True Colours
by cleotheo
Summary: When Hermione is kidnapped from The Hogwarts Express, The Order vow to save her from her kidnappers. Hermione however isn't quite who she's always appeared to be and her kidnapping isn't as straight forward as it seems. As The Order race to rescue Hermione what will they discover when they finally find her? Dark Hermione.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – I just want to make it clear from the beginning of this story that it is a dark Hermione story. I know some people don't like stories like these, so I wanted to warn people before they read it. For those who like a dark Hermione, I hope you enjoy the story.**

**I also want to say that I've already wrote the whole story so updates should be fairly regularly, like with most of my stories. **

**There are slight differences with events that happened throughout the years, but they will be explained in the first few chapters.**

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Up and down The Hogwarts Express groups of students chatted noisily as they celebrated the end of yet another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In one of the last compartments of the train sat four Gryffindor's who had just completed their sixth year and a Ravenclaw and Gryffindor that had just finished their fifth.

Sitting beside the window were the two fifth year girls, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. Ginny and Luna were currently reading the latest addition of Luna's father's publication, The Quibbler. Luna was currently trying to convince Ginny that Crumple-Horned Snorkack's really existed, something the redheaded girl was extremely sceptical about.

Sitting opposite the two girls were Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom. The three Gryffindor boys were playing exploding snap as a way to take their minds off the on-going war. Ever since Voldemort returned to full strength two years ago he had been gathering his army and launching regular attacks on those who opposed him. All three of the boys had loved ones involved in The Order of the Phoenix, so they all knew how serious the situation was becoming.

Also sitting in the compartment, quietly reading a book and sitting nearest to the door, was Hermione Granger. Hermione was a muggleborn and best friend's with Harry and Ron, she was easily the brightest person in their year at school. Hermione was also heavily involved with the Order as she spent so much time with her two best friends.

Throughout the journey all mention of the war had been banned, the group of friends had agreed that they would have to face the reality of the situation over summer so they should spend one final day not worrying what was happening outside of their compartment. The ban had worked splendidly and for most of the journey no-one had mentioned the trouble facing the wizarding world.

The train was just over an hour outside of London when suddenly it came to a screeching halt. Both Luna and Neville were thrown off-balance by the sudden stoppage and the pair of them ended up on the floor.

"Bloody hell." Ron exclaimed, narrowly avoiding the same fate as Luna and Neville. "Why've we stopped?"

"Maybe there's something on the line." Ginny suggested, pressing her face against the window as she peered out into the late afternoon sunlight.

Ginny had barely finished speaking when the sunlight disappeared and the train was cast into shadows. Along with the darkness came a chilling feeling of foreboding.

"Shit, it can't be happening again." Harry cried, looking worried.

Harry was referring to the incident that had occurred as they were heading for their third year when Dementors had entered The Hogwarts Express in search of the escaped prisoner Sirius Black. Harry in particular had found the episode distressing and as such had developed a fear of the guards of Azkaban prison.

"I think it is." Hermione said, shivering slightly as the temperature had dropped dramatically. "We know Voldemort has control of the Dementors and has used them several times over the last year or so."

"Maybe they won't enter the train." Ron said optimistically.

Ron's optimism was shattered seconds later when the train doors opened and several cloaked figures floated onto the train. When the train doors had opened all the compartment doors had also opened and Harry and Ron immediately rushed over and tried to close them again. Harry and Ron barely had time to battle with the doors before they were forced back into the compartment by two Dementors.

As the Dementors entered the compartment all the light suddenly disappeared. Up and down the train shouts and scream could be heard as the entire train lost its light. In his compartment Harry had fallen back onto the chair but as the Dementors moved closer he was unable to shout as they began feeding on his pain. Harry was vaguely aware of the shouts and calls of his friends as he fell into oblivion.

A few minutes after losing consciousness Harry was awakened by Ron roughly shaking him. Slowly opening his eyes Harry found it was perfectly light once again and the train was starting to move, continuing on its journey home.

"Uh, I hate those things." Harry groaned, sitting up and holding his head in his hands. "Is everyone alright?"

Ron and Neville quickly reassured Harry they were fine as did Luna and Ginny.

"Hermione?" Harry questioned, looking up and finding his friend's seat empty. "Where's Hermione?"

At Harry's question everyone had turned to where Hermione had been sitting seconds before. There was no sign of the brunette witch, even her book had disappeared.

"She was here a second ago." Ron said, shaking his head in the hope that Hermione wouldn't really be gone.

"Maybe she's in the corridor." Neville suggested.

Ron quickly hurried over to the open door and looked into the corridor. While it was crowded with people checking their friends were okay there was no sign of Hermione. Turning back to his friends Ron shook his head, indicating that Hermione wasn't just outside the compartment.

"This is impossible, she can't just have disappeared." Harry muttered, trying to think of a logical explanation as Ron returned to sit next to him.

"Lost something, Potter?" An amused voice called from the doorway.

Harry's head shot up and he found himself staring at his hated schoolmate, Draco Malfoy. Draco was a Slytherin and right from day one he had made it clear that he thought he was superior as he was a pureblood. His father, Lucius, was one of Voldemort's most loyal supporters and Harry was in no doubt that Draco was planning on following in his father's footsteps.

"Get lost, Malfoy." Ron snarled as Harry stood up and approached the blond.

"What did you say?" Harry asked.

"I asked if you'd lost something." Draco repeated with a smirk. "Or should I say, have you lost someone?"

"You bastard." Harry cried, whipping out his wand and pointing it at the unflinching Slytherin. "Where's Hermione?"

"How should I know where Granger is?" Draco asked innocently. The dark glint in his eyes told a different story and Harry was convinced that the blond knew exactly what had happened to their friend.

Harry glared at Draco, knowing full well the blond boy was lying to him. "Stupefy." He called suddenly, a flash of light leaving his wand.

As Harry cast his spell Draco barely blinked as he lazily deflected the stunning spell. "Be careful Potter you've already misplaced Granger, you don't want to end up in a duel and misplace a limb."

Harry gulped nervously and backed off slightly. A few years ago Harry wouldn't have thought twice about taking Draco on but as he grew older there was a dangerous air about the blond Slytherin. In Defence against the Dark Arts this past year Harry had witnessed how little effort it took for Draco to deflect spells and cast his own. Harry was also convinced that in a duel the Slytherin wouldn't think twice about using a dark spell that could seriously hurt him.

"Wise decision, Potter." Draco smirked as Harry backed off. There was nothing Draco liked more than intimidating people, something he was getting better at as he grew up. "It's been nice chatting to you but it's really time for me to leave now. We're nearly home and I have a busy summer ahead of me. See you around, Potter."

With a final smirk at the shell-shocked group of friends, Draco turned on his heel and strode purposefully away from the compartment. Once he had left the group seemed to find their voices, Ginny and Luna started fretting over their friend's whereabouts, Neville wondered if they should stop the train while Ron suggested they chase the blond Slytherin and gang up on him until he told them what he had done with Hermione.

"Be quiet!" Harry yelled as his friends all spoke at the same time. "We need to think logically, what would Hermione do?"

"Hex Malfoy until he admitted what he knew." Ron spat, angry that the Slytherin was involved in Hermione's disappearance.

"I don't think that would work." Ginny shook her head. While she liked the idea of hexing the blond Slytherin she was confident he wouldn't reveal what he knew.

"Maybe we need to search the train." Neville suggested. "If Malfoy's the one that has done something to her, she has to be on the train somewhere."

"Neville has a point." Harry said. "Before we start a major panic we need to establish if Hermione is still on the train."

"What if she's not?" Ginny whispered, voicing the question no-one wanted to know the answer to.

"Then we're going to need help." Harry sighed. "If she's not on the train she was either thrown off when we weren't moving or she was taken."

The group silently contemplated the two options briefly before splitting into two groups and heading off in search of their friend. Neville, Ginny and Luna stuck together while Harry and Ron also teamed up.

"You think she's been kidnapped don't you." Ron said to Harry once the others were out of the way.

"Yes, I think the Dementor attack was a ruse." Harry said.

"Why would they want Hermione?" Ron asked. "I could understand them taking you, you are The Boy Who Lived after all, but taking Hermione makes no sense."

"Maybe it wasn't Hermione they specifically targeted." Harry suggested. "Maybe they just wanted one of my friends to draw me into the open. The Order have been worrying something like this might happen since their botched attempt to lure me to the Ministry after Sirius last year."

"So Hermione was just unlucky to be the one sitting by the door." Ron said, wishing the brunette had been sitting over the other side of the compartment.

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. "Maybe we're wrong and Hermione is still on the train. Maybe Malfoy just took advantage of the situation and used it as an opportunity to curse her."

"Well they are always fighting." Ron agreed. While he and Harry had a pretty bad relationship with the Slytherin it was tame compared to the hate that radiated between Draco and Hermione, they always had an abundance of insults to throw at each other and weren't afraid of throwing hexes at each other.

As the search continued Harry tried to convince himself that they would find Hermione, his gut however was telling him otherwise. The second Draco had mentioned Hermione being missing Harry had known the blond Slytherin knew exactly what was happening. He'd also immediately known that whatever had happened had been more serious than Draco managing to hex the brunette witch that he detested so much.

By the time the group had conducted a thorough search of the train and had reunited, The Hogwarts Express had nearly reached King's Cross Station. Still having found no trace of Hermione the group grabbed their belongings so they could be amongst the first to leave the train. They knew the quicker the Order were informed the quicker they could board the train and begin their own investigation into Hermione's disappearance.

The train had barely stopped moving before the group jumped off the train and ran to the small group of adults that were waiting for them. Ron and Ginny's parents, Molly and Arthur, were at the head of the group that also included Luna's father and Neville's Gran. Also with the group were two other members of the Order, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks.

"What's going on?" Remus asked at the teenagers sprinted over to them with worried looks on their faces. "Why do all look so serious?"

"Hermione's gone." Ron panted, slightly out of breath from running while he was dragging his large trunk.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Molly questioned. "She was supposed to be staying with us until her parents return tomorrow."

Mr and Mrs Granger were at a conference on the south coast so Molly had happily agreed to let Hermione spend the night with them.

"We mean she disappeared about an hour ago." Harry said, hurriedly explaining what had happened with the Dementors.

Once Harry had finished explaining what had happened Remus, Arthur and Tonks boarded the train while the others prepared to head home. Once they were safely home Molly would inform the rest of the Order and a full scale search would begin.

Neville's gran grabbed hold of her grandson and before they left she promised they would be at Order headquarters as soon as they had dropped Neville's belongings off at home. Luna's father took both Luna and Ginny home as the Lovegood's lived relatively close to the Weasley's, he also vowed to be at headquarters as soon as possible. Once everyone had safely apparated home Molly grabbed onto Harry and Ron and prepared to take them home.

Just before Molly apparated home Harry felt someone watching him. Turning his head he found Draco Malfoy standing with his mother, looking firmly in their direction. The moment Draco spotted Harry watching him his face broke into an evil smirk and he winked at the Gryffindor moments before Molly whisked them away from Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

As soon as they arrived at the Weasley house, The Burrow, Molly made the boys put their trunk away in Ron's room while she started contacting the Order. Harry and Ron miserably trudged up to Ron's room and left their trunks at the bottom of Ron's bed, by the time they returned downstairs Ginny had arrived home and was anxiously watching Molly using the floo network to contact as many people as possible.

Spotting the three teenagers behind her Molly stopped make calls and turned around. "I want you three to head to Grimmauld Place. Tell Sirius what's happening, I'll be there as quickly as possible."

Grimmauld Place was the residence of Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and the headquarters for The Order of the Phoenix. For the last three years Harry had lived there with Sirius, although he spent almost as much time at The Burrow as he did at his godfather's.

Harry stepped into the green flames first as he headed home. Ron and Ginny followed closely behind Harry and the three teenagers explained to Sirius what was happening. They had barely finished explaining the situation when the Order started to arrive, all eager to help find the muggleborn witch that was part of their group.

Amongst the first people to arrive were Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape. Once the Professor's got an explanation on what was happening they all disappeared to the scene of the crime. Harry, Ron and Ginny all wanted to help but Dumbledore insisted they stayed safely at Grimmauld Place. He also encouraged them to think hard about the incident on the train and asked them all to make notes on what they remembered, he stressed that any little detail that may seem insignificant could be the key to finding Hermione.

Harry, Ron and Ginny reluctantly did as Dumbledore asked, they settled in the kitchen and wrote down all they remembered. The trio were soon joined by Neville and Luna, who also made notes for Dumbledore. When they were finished the five friends sat discussing Hermione and the search effort that was currently underway.

Over the course of the night the house grew more crowded as more people were arriving and those that had been around earlier returned. By nine o'clock the whole Order, minus Hermione, were present and Dumbledore rose to speak.

"As we all know a terrible tragedy occurred this afternoon. While returning from school Hermione Granger was snatched from The Hogwarts Express." Dumbledore announced to the sombre room. "From the information we've got we're fairly confident she was snatched by Death Eaters as the Dementors boarded the train as a distraction. Our main priority now is getting Hermione back where she belongs, and we will get her back."

Dumbledore directed the last of his speech to Harry, Ron and their friends, reassuring the teenagers that Hermione wouldn't be abandoned and they would rescue her.


	2. Chapter 2

A few carriages away from where Harry Potter and his friends were sitting on The Hogwarts Express sat Draco Malfoy and his friends. Draco had especially chosen a carriage near to the group of Gryffindors so it would be easier to pay them a visit later on.

For the majority of the journey Draco hadn't even thought about his nearby rivals as he enjoyed spending time with his friends. Draco had been friends with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle since childhood but in their first year the trio had become friendly with the other two male Slytherins in their year, Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini. Since then the five Slytherins had formed a solid friendship and always rode together on The Hogwarts Express.

While most of the journey had passed smoothly there had been an earlier incident with Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin in their year. Pansy had been obsessed with Draco since their early school days and despite Draco repeatedly telling her he had no interest in her the raven haired witch just wouldn't give up.

Earlier in the afternoon Pansy had visited the compartment and just wouldn't leave, despite all the boys' best efforts. Eventually Draco had snapped and told Pansy in no uncertain terms that even if she was the last witch alive he still wouldn't sleep with her. Pansy had left in a huff vowing never to speak to Draco again, although all the boys knew that by the beginning of next year she would had forgotten all about her anger and would be all over Draco again.

Draco's brutal dismissal of Pansy kept the boys entertained for a while as they debated if he had done the right thing in being so harsh with her. While Crabbe and Goyle understood that Draco didn't want a relationship with Pansy they were bemused he would turn down the sex she was clearly offering. Neither Crabbe nor Goyle were very successful with women so they didn't understand how their friend could just pass up the opportunity to be with a girl so easily. Blaise and Theo, who were both more successful with girls than Crabbe and Goyle, understood Draco's motivations perfectly. Despite the many rejections she had received over the years Pansy was still obsessed with Draco so if he actually slept with her he would struggle even more to get rid of the annoying witch.

The boys were still talking about Pansy when the train suddenly ground to a halt. Draco, who knew exactly what was about to happen, grinned and moved so he was standing in the doorway of the compartment. The other boys didn't know exactly what was about to happen but they all knew something important to the war effort was about to take place.

With an air of excited expectation the group of Slytherins watched and listened as the train doors suddenly opened and dozens of Dementors boarded the train. The Dementors ignored the compartment of Slytherins as they spread themselves about the train. Less than a minute after the Dementors entered the train all the lights suddenly went out and blackness fell.

"Shit, what's going on?" Theo asked. "I can't see anything."

"Relax, the lights will be back on in a minute." Draco replied. He was trying to spot some movement in the corridors but it was so dark he couldn't see a thing.

After another minute of darkness the lights suddenly turned back on and the train's engine restarted. As Draco watched people spill into the corridors he hoped everything had gone to plan.

"I'll be back in a minute." He said to his friends. "There's something I've got to do."

As Draco stepped into the corridor he spotted the red head of Ron Weasley sticking out of his compartment, looking frantically from side to side. Confident the plan had worked Draco carried on walking until he was standing outside the compartment containing Harry Potter and his friends. Draco quickly scanned the compartment, double checking there was no sign of Hermione Granger, before he made his presence felt.

Draco spent a few minutes winding Harry up before he turned and left. Draco grinned to himself as he left the compartment, he'd done exactly what was required of him and let Harry know that he knew about the disappearance of his friend. Between the presence of the Dementors and his words and actions it wouldn't take the Order long to work out that the dark side had Hermione Granger.

"What's going on?" Blaise asked as Draco re-entered their compartment.

"Sit and enjoy the show." Draco smirked at his friend as he settled back into his seat. "By the time we arrive in London the whole train will know what's happened."

It didn't even take ten minutes before the noise on the train had risen spectacularly as the news of Hermione's disappearance started to leak out. There was also a search underway although Draco was amused to notice that no-one dared enter their compartment in search of the missing girl.

"What do you know about this, Draco?" Theo asked. He and Blaise were standing in the doorway watching the action unfold. "Has Granger been kidnapped?"

"She's no longer on the train." Draco replied. "The whole point of the Dementors boarding was to distract her idiot friends."

"I can't believe you knew this was happening." Crabbe said, sounding envious.

Everyone knew the Malfoy's were held in high regard by The Dark Lord and all the boys were slightly jealous that Draco knew about a high profile kidnapping. The whole group knew they would be expected to join Voldemort once they had finished school but obviously the rumours were right about Draco and he was destined to join the Death Eaters even earlier.

"I didn't just know it was happening, I helped plan it." Draco couldn't help boasting slightly, although he wouldn't dream of revealing everything he knew. "I also made sure that Potter and his cronies know that I know what's happened to Granger."

"How did you do that?" Goyle asked. "Is that what you were doing earlier?"

Draco nodded. "All it took was a few well-chosen words and looks and Potter was immediately suspicious."

The other Slytherins were highly impressed by Draco's involvement and they spent the short remainder of the trip enjoying the chaos that was swirling around them. When the train reached its destination Draco was ready to depart the train and after saying a quick goodbye to his friends he alighted the train seconds after Harry and his group of friends.

As Draco walked over to where his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, was waiting for him he kept a close eye on the group of Gryffindors. Within minutes there was a flurry of activity and Draco was confident the adults now knew of the missing witch.

"Hello, dear. Have you had a nice year?" Narcissa greeted her son.

"It was okay." Draco shrugged, his eyes still on the group of Gryffindors that were slowly leaving.

"And how was the ride home?" Narcissa asked, following her son's eye line.

"Eventful." Draco replied, smirking and winking as Harry turned round and spotted him watching.

"Come on, your father's waiting at home, he wants to speak to you." Narcissa said as she watched Molly Weasley dissapparate with her son and the Potter boy.

Draco turned his attention back to his mother and the pair apparated home. Home for the Malfoy's was a lavish manor house in Wiltshire, the Manor had hundreds of rooms and acres of surrounding gardens and land. Because the property was so large and in the middle of the countryside the Malfoy's had no neighbours so they didn't have to conceal their magic like some people who lived nearer to muggles.

Narcissa and Draco arrived in the front entrance hall and barely had time to catch their breath when two house elves appeared in front of them. One of them was Draco's personal elf, Dinky, who grabbed Draco's school trunk and whisked it away. Draco knew by the time he got to his room the trunk would have been unpacked and everything neatly sorted to where it belonged. The second elf, Mitzee, was in charge of the meals and had come to ask Narcissa what she wanted making for dinner.

While Narcissa went with Mitzee to organise dinner, Draco headed in the direction of his father's study. Following a complicated labyrinth of corridors Draco arrived at the door to his father's study, anyone who wasn't extremely familiar with the Manor would struggle to navigate their way around the large house. Draco knocked once on the door and awaited his father's command to enter, he wouldn't dream of entering Lucius's private study without first receiving permission.

Less than a minute after knocking the door was opened and Draco found himself face to face with his father. Lucius smiled at the sight of his son and beckoned the teenager to enter his domain. Draco silently entered the room and settled himself in one of the chairs by the fire, it was where Draco and Lucius always sat when they were together in the room.

"How was school this year?" Lucius asked, settling in the chair opposite Draco. "I expect you got good exam results."

"Of course, father." Draco nodded. "All O's and E's." O for outstanding and E for exceeds expectation were the two top grades in the wizarding education marking system and Draco had received the marks through his whole academic career.

"Good, that should lead to some impressive marks next year." Lucius replied.

Lucius was aware that he pushed Draco pretty hard to succeed at school but he knew his son was very intelligent and could easily be one of the top students. Unfortunately Draco was often content to coast through school and without Lucius's constant badgering he would be an average student at best. Lucius wasn't content with his son being average so he pushed to him reach his full potential.

"Did everything go alright this afternoon?" Lucius asked, changing the subject to the real reason he wished to see Draco.

"Everything went according to plan. Potter knows I know what's going on." Draco said. "Was everything all right on your end?" Draco knew his father had been around earlier that afternoon, even though he hadn't seen him.

"Everything ran like clockwork." Lucius smirked. "The plan worked perfectly."

"We always said it would." Draco replied. He'd been instrumental in organising the plan so he was relieved it had gone so well.

"I never doubted you for a second." Lucius reassured his son.

"Do you have any idea how the Order are reacting?" Draco asked.

"Not yet, it's too soon." Lucius shook his head. "Severus will be in touch later tonight."

Severus Snape was the Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin at Hogwarts, he was also a Death Eater and member of the Order of the Phoenix. For years Severus had worked as a double agent and had Dumbledore and the Order convinced he could be trusted while his true loyalties lay with the dark side.

"Do you think they'll try and raid the Manor?" Draco asked. He was worried that now Harry knew of his involvement the Order would target the Manor.

"They'd never get in." Lucius scoffed at the idea. "Malfoy Manor is the securest private residence in the country. Even The Dark Lord isn't be able to enter without permission so I doubt Dumbledore and his do-gooders would fare any better."

"If you're sure." Draco said, sounding less confident than his father.

"I am, you have nothing to worry about Draco. The Order will not be able to gain entry to the Manor." Lucius said as he stood up. "I have some work to finish so I suggest you go and freshen up before dinner."

Draco immediately stood up, recognising that his conversation with his father was over. After saying goodbye Draco left Lucius's study and started making his way to his bedroom. Draco's bedroom was situated high in the east wing and it overlooked the Manor's stunning rose gardens.

When Draco entered his room he noticed that as expected his trunk had been unpacked and all his belongings were exactly where they belonged. Draco's room was extremely large with an en-suite bathroom, a large walk in wardrobe and an adjoining sitting room. The room was very much decorated in celebration of his school house, with dark wooden furniture and silver and green being the main colours of decoration.

As Draco walked through his bedroom to the bathroom he stripped off his clothes, throwing them haphazardly on the floor. After a quick shower Draco returned to his room where he dressed in black trousers and a grey shirt. After making sure his hair was perfectly in place Draco left his bedroom and walked to the one next door to his.

The door to the bedroom was open and Draco walked straight in without knocking. The layout and size of the room was identical to Draco's but where Draco's décor was Slytherin based this room featured light wooden furniture and the colour scheme was cream and plum.

Walking through the empty bedroom Draco stopped at the doorway to the adjoining sitting room and leant against the doorframe. For several minutes he watched the occupant of the room as they sat curled in a chair by the window, their nose buried in a book. Deciding to make his presence known Draco cleared his throat, causing the witch sitting by the window to look up in shock.

Draco watched with a smirk as the witch recovered from her surprise and closed her book, placing it on the arm of her chair. Slowly she stood up from her seat and walked towards him, when she stopped Draco found himself standing incredibly close to Hermione Granger.


	3. Chapter 3

For the majority of the train ride home Hermione Granger sat quietly reading her book. Hermione had gotten out her book minutes after boarding the train and her friends knew her well enough not to disturb her when she was reading. Hermione read peacefully for hours, she didn't even glance up from the pages until the train began getting nearer to home.

About two hours before the train was due to arrive at Kings Cross Station, Hermione subtly started checking her watch as nerves started to appear. Hermione was normally calm and collected but she knew that if events in the next hour or so went wrong her whole life could be in danger. For the next hour all Hermione could do was wait and hope everything went alright.

The second the train ground to a halt Hermione felt a wave of calmness wash over her, all her nerves suddenly disappeared as she anticipated what was going to happen next. As her friends began to wonder what was happening Hermione was initially surprised how quick Harry realised the Dementors were nearby, but then she noticed the chill in the air. Barely a minute had passed since Harry mentioned the Dementors before the train doors flew open and the cloaked figures boarded the train.

When Harry and Ron charged at the compartment door and tried closing it Hermione suddenly got worried, she needed the door open for what would happen next. Luckily for Hermione two Dementors appeared in the doorway and pushed Harry and Ron back into the compartment. As the Dementors entered the compartment all the lights suddenly went out and the train was plunged into darkness, this was Hermione's cue to move.

Silently Hermione stood up and edged her way to the open doorway, she had deliberately sat next to the door so she could leave quickly without being seen. Once in the corridor it was still pitch black but Hermione had deliberately chosen a compartment directly opposite a door so all she had to do was walk straight ahead. It took Hermione three steps to cross the corridor and reach the open door. Once in the doorway Hermione could clearly see the fields surrounding the deserted area in which the train had been stopped.

"Stop admiring the view and get off the train." A voice nearby snapped.

Hermione looked down and found Lucius Malfoy standing beside The Hogwarts Express, his hand held out for her to grab onto. Hermione held onto Lucius as the older wizard helped her off the stationary train and over the tracks to safety.

"We need to go, the train will start moving in a minute." Lucius said once they were clear of the tracks.

The plan was set so that the instant Lucius left the scene with Hermione the Dementors would leave the train and it would continue on its journey. There was currently a Death Eater in with the driver making sure he started the train immediately as well as several others strategically placed around the train to make sure Lucius got away unnoticed.

Hermione nodded and held onto Lucius a second time as the wizard apparated them home. Hermione and Lucius arrived directly in Lucius's study where Narcissa was sitting waiting for them. After checking Hermione was alright, Narcissa went off to get ready to pick up Draco in an hour while Lucius and Hermione sat down to talk.

"I've got to admit, that was a pretty good plan." Lucius told Hermione.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled. "It did seem to work well."

"It did." Lucius agreed. "It's amazing what you and Draco can accomplish when you're not arguing."

"We don't argue all the time." Hermione protested.

"You're right, you don't." Lucius conceded. "The rest of the time you're usually flirting with each other."

Hermione blushed at Lucius's words causing the wizard to laugh in amusement. Hermione glared at the laughing wizard as she stood up, still embarrassed that Lucius had picked up on the attraction between herself and his son.

"I'm going to my room." Hermione said. "I assume you've got things to do and people to speak to regarding this afternoon."

"I do, although I want to wait until I've spoken to Draco before I contact The Dark Lord." Lucius said. "Don't forget we'll want your book later."

"Tonight?" Hermione asked, looking at the book she was still carrying. The book was the only thing she had taken with her when she left the train and it had an important part to play in the plan.

"I'm thinking early tomorrow morning but I'll let you know over dinner." Lucius replied.

"Okay." Hermione nodded. "See you later."

After leaving Lucius's study Hermione made her way to her bedroom. The minute she stepped into her childhood room Hermione felt instantly happier and much more like herself. The months she was at Hogwarts playing the part of Hermione Granger, muggleborn best friend to Harry Potter were exhausting. Hermione was relieved she was home and could be herself, Hermione Granger the pureblood witch who was a supporter of The Dark Lord.

Hermione's parents, Evelyn and Mitchell, had been Death Eaters who were killed when Hermione was eighteen months old. The Grangers had only been Death Eaters for two years when they were killed and as such hadn't had time to come to the Order's attention. When they were killed by the Order they weren't even identified by the light side, instead they were just considered two more Death Eaters that died in battle.

After her parents deaths Hermione was brought up by the Malfoy's. Narcissa and Evelyn had went to school together and were best friends until Evelyn's parents moved to Canada just before Evelyn's sixth year. The two women stayed in contact over the years and Narcissa was thrilled when her friend announced she was returning home, newly married and five months pregnant. Lucius and Mitchell also became good friends and the two couples spent a lot of time together.

Evelyn and Mitchell were both pure bloods and eagerly joined Voldemort's ranks once they had settled into their new home. Unlike Narcissa, who fully supported Voldemort but didn't have a Dark Mark or participated in any events, Evelyn became a full Death Eater. Evelyn would join Lucius and her husband on raids regularly, leaving Hermione in the care of Narcissa.

It was while taking part in an attack on the Order that Evelyn and Mitchell were both killed. Lucius had also been involved in the attack and had been badly injured himself, he also witnessed the deaths of his friends. Lucius had witnessed how Evelyn was cornered by several Order members, Mitchell had jumped to her defence but the Order had outnumbered them and the couple had gone down fighting.

As the Order didn't know, or didn't care, who Evelyn and Mitchell were they weren't aware of their baby girl at home without parents. As both Evelyn and Mitchell were only children and their parents were dead Lucius and Narcissa vowed to bring Hermione up. With Lucius's money and influence he arranged the whole thing secretly and apart from a few select people no-one knew of Hermione's existence. Lucius and Narcissa were a private enough couple that no-one ever knew there were two children living in the Manor, not just the one everyone knew about.

Growing up Hermione had never been treated any different than Draco, the Malfoy's didn't favour their own son over the girl they had all but adopted. Hermione had also grown up knowing all about her parents and what had happened to them, as such she hated the Order from a young age and would often promise Lucius she would one day make them pay for what they had done to her parents.

A year before Hermione was due to start Hogwarts Lucius came to her with a proposition. Lucius suggested that as no-one knew of her existence she could pose as a muggleborn and befriend Harry Potter, that way when The Dark Lord returned they would have an ally on the light side. Even though she was only ten years old Lucius trusted that Hermione was wise enough to make the right decision.

Hermione agreed to help Lucius with his plan, although she was slightly upset in case he made her go and live with some muggles. After Lucius reassured Hermione that he definitely wasn't sending her away and she would always live with them as she was part of the family, plans were made.

Hermione spent the year studying muggles so she could pass as one while Lucius arranged everything else with the help of Severus Snape. Severus planted false information at Hogwarts that Hermione was a muggleborn while Lucius found a childless muggle couple to play the part of the Grangers. With a series of complex spells and enchantments Lucius had the couple convinced Hermione was really their daughter, and on the rare occasions they needed to be seen by someone from the wizarding world they were very convincing.

After a year of preparation it was time for Hermione to begin school and begin her false life as a muggleborn. Hermione was nervous enough about the plan but what made it worse was that she and Draco couldn't be friends in public, they both knew that if the plan was to be successful they would have to pretend to dislike each other.

The first part of the plan worked splendidly, by asking the Sorting Hat politely Hermione ended up in Gryffindor. The second part of the plan quickly hit a snag, Hermione was supposed to befriend Harry Potter but while he was nice and friendly he had already made friends with Ron Weasley and the redhead had taken an instant dislike to Hermione. For weeks Hermione tried to befriend the two boys without any success, she was seriously worried that by the time the Christmas holidays began she would have to tell Lucius she had failed.

Hermione's problem with Harry and Ron was solved accidentally on Halloween. Hermione had been getting increasingly upset at her failure and was in the bathroom crying in frustration when the troll made an appearance. Hermione had been taken off guard by the appearance of a troll and was panicking when Harry and Ron came to her rescue. The troll incident bonded the trio and from then on their friendship flourished.

For the next few years all Hermione had to do was make sure she retained her friendship with Harry and Ron. At times it became difficult for Hermione to stay friends with the two boys, Ron especially seemed to grate on Hermione and their hatred towards Slytherins and in particular Draco often left the brunette witch annoyed and frustrated. Hermione also struggled with meeting Ron's family, Molly was far to tactile for Hermione's liking and when she was around the older witch Hermione seemed to spend the entire time trying to avoid unwanted hugs.

It wasn't until fourth year that Hermione knew Lucius's plan would prove useful. When Voldemort returned at the end of the year he was thrilled to learn that Lucius had arranged for Hermione to befriend Harry. Using information from Hermione, Voldemort and Lucius spent most of fifth year working on a plan to get Harry to face up to Voldemort again. Their plan to lure Harry to the Ministry in search of Sirius looked to be working perfectly until Harry managed to get in contact with his godfather at home, meaning he wasn't being held prisoner at the Ministry.

When that plan failed Voldemort and Lucius began working on other plans while Hermione moped about their failure, she had been looking forward to returning to normal and not having to pretend to be someone she wasn't. It was actually Hermione that came up with the idea for a new plan, after the failed attempt to use Sirius to lure Harry the Order became paranoid that Voldemort would try the same trick again. It was the Order's constant worrying that convinced Hermione they should do as they expected and kidnap someone close to Harry.

After discussing her idea with Draco the pair of them came up with a plan. First they decided it should be Hermione that was 'kidnapped', it would be far easier to arrange Hermione's disappearance than actually kidnap someone else. For months they worked on the best way to fake a kidnapping and the best time, eventually they settled for using the train on the way home from school. Once the plan was sorted they told it to Lucius who approached Voldemort with the idea. Voldemort hadn't been totally convinced the plan would work but he gave Lucius permission to try it.

Lucius and Draco had made the final arrangements, with Draco passing on anything Hermione needed to know, and before they knew it was time to try their plan. Hermione was pretty pleased with how her part of things went and she knew Draco would deliver with his part, it wouldn't take much for Harry to believe Draco was involved in her kidnapping as he detested the blond Slytherin.

To stop herself worrying about Draco and the rest of the plan, Hermione used the opportunity to finish her book. Earlier that day she had made sure Ginny got a good look at what she was reading as soon Lucius would send the Order her book as proof the dark side had Hermione. The plan was then to send the Order on wild goose chases, depleting their numbers, before Voldemort made his final move. Hermione was hoping everything would play out over the summer as she quite liked the idea of attending her last year at Hogwarts as herself, not some saintly bookworm.

When Hermione had finished her book she sat looking down at the pages as she daydreamed about what her life would be like if she didn't have to pretend anymore. Hermione was thinking about how she could be publically friends with Draco when the sound of someone clearing their throat made her look up in surprise, her eyes finding the boy in question standing smirking at her.

Recovering from the shock Hermione placed her bookmark in her book and placed it on the arm of her chair before she slowly rose. Silently she made her way towards her best friend, stopping inches in front of him. Hermione smirked as Draco's breath hitched slightly and his eyes fell to her top, she had undone her top few buttons so her cleavage was on full display.

"Hi." Hermione whispered, reaching up and pecking Draco on the cheek. "I've been bored all alone, now you're here you can entertain me."

"How do you expect me to do that?" Draco asked. He was slightly shocked by Hermione's welcome, she didn't normally kiss him.

"You can tell me what happened on the train once I'd left." Hermione replied, taking hold of Draco's hand and dragging him to the large sofa in the room.

Draco grinned, happy to relieve the moment he taunted Potter. Settling on the sofa next to Hermione, Draco began telling her what had happened on the last leg of the journey home. Hermione eagerly listened to the story, asking questions when she felt Draco wasn't being detailed enough. Hermione and Draco sat talking for nearly two hours before an elf appeared and informed them it was time for dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

Dinner time at the Manor was normally a formal affair, however the first meal of the summer break was always more relaxed as the family caught up. Mainly the conversation revolved around what Draco and Hermione had been up to that year, and dinner that night was no exception.

As usual both Draco and Hermione told several stories the other one never even knew had happened. Before they started school in first year Draco and Hermione had decided it would be safer for them not to meet up in school, they didn't want anyone to spot them talking and wonder why Draco was friends with a muggleborn. As such throughout their school lives their paths had rarely crossed, Draco hung out with his friends while Hermione was stuck with Harry and Ron.

Neither Draco nor Hermione were happy that they would often have to go months without talking but they understood the need to keep Hermione's real identity a secret. School holidays were normally the pair's favourite time but over the last few years Hermione's 'friends' had even encroached on that time. As often as she could get away with Hermione would make excuses when Ron asked her to join him and Harry at The Burrow but she did have to spend some time with the Weasley's so they didn't get suspicious. The fact that her 'friends' and their family dug into the precious time she had with her family, Draco especially, was yet another thing Hermione resented them for.

Once talk of school was finished the conversation drifted to that afternoon's 'kidnap' and what would happen next.

"First thing in the morning we send Hermione's book to the Order." Lucius said. "Will they definitely know it's your book?" He asked the witch.

"Yes, my name's written inside and Ginny knows what I was reading today." Hermione replied.

"What happens after that?" Draco asked.

"That's up to The Dark Lord." Lucius answered. "But I'm sure he'll want to taunt Potter and the Order before drawing them out."

"As long as he doesn't taunt them so much they realise they're likely to be walking into a trap and don't come." Hermione said.

"That would mean abandoning you." Draco pointed out. "They wouldn't do that."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked. "It would be stupid to risk several lives for one person."

"Yes it would." Lucius agreed. "But you're forgetting we're dealing with a bunch of Gryffindors here, they'll always act first and think of the consequences later."

"I'm a Gryffindor and I wouldn't walk into a trap." Hermione protested.

"You're not a true Gryffindor, sweetie." Narcissa smiled at Hermione. "You asked to be placed there if things had been different and you were genuinely sorted I bet you would have been a Slytherin."

"She's far too soft to be a Slytherin." Draco said, shooting Hermione an evil grin. "If you were to put the right person in a trap she'd walk into it in a second."

"I hope you're not insinuating you would be the right person to get me to fall into a trap. There's no way I'd rescue you." Hermione retorted.

"We both know you'd rescue me in a second." Draco grinned. "Your life would be boring without me."

"My life would be peaceful without you to annoy me." Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco, although she couldn't help but smile slightly.

"My life would be peaceful if you two learned not to argue at the dinner table." Narcissa said, interrupting the bickering before it reached full flow. "Sometimes I have no idea what's wrong with you two."

"It's called sexual tension, dear." Lucius replied from across the table.

Both Draco and Hermione looked totally mortified, causing Lucius to laugh at the pair. Narcissa briefly chuckled before scolding her husband for embarrassing the children, although she agreed with her husband regarding the sexual tension between Draco and Hermione. Shortly after that Hermione and Draco made their excuses and left the dining room for the night.

As their rooms were next to each other Hermione and Draco walked upstairs together, even though neither of them mentioned Lucius's comment. When they reached the floor where their rooms were located they stopped directly in between the two rooms, hovering awkwardly as neither were sure what to say to each other. Despite being best friends for ever there were still times they were unsure of what the other was thinking.

"I didn't mean it, you know." Hermione spoke first.

"Didn't mean what?" Draco teased. He knew full well what Hermione didn't mean but he still wanted to hear her admit it.

"I didn't mean it when I said I wouldn't rescue you if you were captured." Hermione said. "I'm kind of attached to you so I would rescue you."

"Even if it meant walking into a trap?" Draco asked with a smile.

"Yes, even if it meant walking into a trap." Hermione admitted. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for Draco and Hermione knew the blond boy knew that as well as she did.

"I'm flattered." Draco grinned. "And just for the record I didn't mean what I said either. You're not too soft to be a Slytherin, you'd be a brilliant addition to Slytherin."

"It's just a shame I didn't get the chance." Hermione said. She didn't regret her decision to pose as a muggleborn to help the dark side but she did sometimes wish she could have been sorted into the house she grew up wanting to join.

"You and I could have ruled Slytherin easily." Draco said. "No-one would have messed with us."

"I was under the impression you already ruled Slytherin." Hermione smiled. She was aware of Draco's fearsome reputation and the fact that no Slytherin would ever dare go against something he did or said.

"I do." Draco replied cockily. "It would just be more fun if I had you with me."

"Maybe when this is over I can be." Hermione said. "When we win this war everyone will know how much we contributed and we'll be heroes."

"That still wouldn't change the fact you're not a Slytherin." Draco said. "Lions aren't welcome in the snake pit."

"I'm sure you could make an exception for me." Hermione said, moving so she was standing directly in front of Draco. "I would make it worth your while."

"How would you do that?" Draco asked, trying not to stare down Hermione's top again.

"You'll have to wait and see, but I promise you'll like it." Hermione said, reaching up and giving Draco another peck on the cheek. "Night Draco." She whispered in his ear before pulling back and heading into her room.

Draco stood for a while looking at Hermione's closed door before he went into his own room, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

By the early hours of the morning Hermione still hadn't fallen asleep, her mind was firmly on the boy sleeping in the room next door and their changing relationship. For a long time Hermione had only thought of Draco as a friend but over the last couple of years she had come to realise he meant much more to her than that.

Looking back Hermione wondered if part of her always knew she thought of Draco as more than a friend. Despite knowing all about her real parents Hermione considered Narcissa and Lucius her mum and dad but she had never thought of Draco as her brother. She was also aware that no-one had ever referred to her and Draco that way either, while she had heard both Lucius and Narcissa call her their daughter she had never heard them call her and Draco brother and sister and Draco had never referred to her as his sister.

Despite growing up like siblings and having a deep bond with each other Hermione only ever thought of them as friends. From an early age Hermione knew Draco was her best friend and that she would never be closer with anyone else. The only time Hermione ever worried about their friendship was when they were due to start school and she knew they wouldn't be able to talk every day.

For the first year of school Hermione worried that Draco would prefer his new Slytherin friends and once they were home he wouldn't want to know her. The fact that they rarely saw each other in first year did little to help Hermione's worries. Fortunately when the holiday's rolled round little had changed between the pair and Draco reassured Hermione that they would always be friends.

It wasn't until second year that Hermione and Draco started coming into more regular contact at school. While Draco had made enemies out of Harry and Ron in first year he usually ignored Hermione during the occasional run-ins they had. Second year saw an increase in the arguments, she was sure that Harry and Ron would often look for Draco just to have an argument.

With the increased level of interaction it was harder for Draco to ignore Hermione, it got to the point he had to insult her just to make sure no-one got suspicious of their friendship. As the run-ins increased steadily throughout second, third and fourth year Hermione realised that Harry and Ron were pretty ineffectual during the arguments. Usually they let Draco insult them while they lost their tempers, every now and again they managed to throw in an insult but those were few and far between.

The more Harry and Ron remained quiet during these encounters the more Hermione found herself speaking up and fighting their corner. Throwing insults at Draco wasn't anything new as while they were close growing up they could also fight like cat and dog. Both Hermione and Draco came to look forward to their arguments, they would often reminisce in the holidays and congratulate each other on a particular impressive insult.

The more Hermione and Draco argued the more vicious the insults became and the more people were convinced the pair truly detested each other. The only thing they had to be careful of was to make sure their arguments looked nastier than they were, throwing the odd hex here and there often disguised the fact they were both enjoying the verbal sparring they often indulged in.

Hermione wasn't sure exactly when the romantic feelings seeped into their friendship, although she suspected they were always there and were just well buried until Christmas of their fifth year. Hermione had spent Christmas that year at home, much to her relief, the Weasley's had tried to get her to spend the holiday with them but Hermione insisted she should return home and be with her family. The entire holidays had passed far too quickly for Hermione's liking and before she knew it she was packing to go back to school.

After Hermione had finished her packing she had stripped off ready for a shower when Draco had suddenly arrived in her room. Hermione and Draco never knocked when entering each other's room so when Draco had wanted to ask Hermione something he had just wandered into her room, not realising she was only wearing her underwear.

Hermione could still remember the way Draco had stared at her for several minutes, his eyes wandering over her scantily clad body. After a while Draco seemed to realise he was staring so he stuttered out an apology and bolted from the room, his pale face flushed bright red. Hermione had found Draco's embarrassment amusing but she also found she wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed herself, in fact she really hadn't minded the way Draco had looked at her.

That incident seemed to be the catalyst for the growing attraction between the pair. After that incident Hermione caught Draco looking at her far more often than normal and she herself started paying closer attention to her good looking friend. By the end of fifth year Hermione definitely knew that she thought of Draco as more than a friend and judging by the lustful looks he threw in her direction the feeling was mutual.

During the summer between fifth and sixth year Hermione considered discussing their attraction to each other with Draco. She knew however that if their relationship took a romantic turn it would be harder for them to stay away from each other at school so she refrained from discussing things with Draco. Despite not mentioning anything to Draco he seemed to be on the same wave length as he repeatedly mentioned how much easier things would be once Hermione could stop pretending to be someone she wasn't.

Their fights during sixth year got even more heated as the repressed sexual tension between them threated to explode. Several times Hermione had to use all her willpower to refrain from kissing Draco mid-fight and she was often aware that if they had been alone their arguments would have ended up with them ripping each other's clothes off. Luckily all of their friends seemed to miss the real reason for the tension between them, Hermione's friends were convinced that she hated Draco more than anyone while Draco's friends though he felt the same about her.

As Hermione lay in her bed thinking about Draco she thought about the revelation she had had earlier in the day, things were now very different and her life could return to normal. She had already decided that even if Voldemort failed to draw Harry out and end the war there was no way Hermione was going back to pretending, she was now free to be with Draco. For the last year Hermione had been subtly flirting with Draco but she had upped the flirtation in the few hours since he returned home with the hope that things could finally progress with their relationship.

Smiling at the thought of what was to come Hermione finally drifted off to sleep, wondering how long it would take her and Draco to give into their lust and fall into bed together.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry slowly drifted into consciousness, vaguely wondering why he could hear snoring when he was at home. It only took a few minutes before Harry remembered the horrors of the previous afternoon and why Ron and Neville were asleep in his bedroom.

After everyone had returned to headquarters and Dumbledore had spoken, the search was once again renewed. Molly had wanted to take Ron, Harry and Ginny back to The Burrow but they had all insisted on staying in case a breakthrough was reached. Neville and his gran and Luna and her father had also stayed to help.

The group of teenagers had all sat together until well past midnight as they watched various members of the Order coming and going, though none brought good news. Eventually Molly had bundled them off to bed, Ron and Neville bunking in with Harry while Luna and Ginny shared one of the many spare rooms in the large house.

Part of Harry wanted to curl back up and go to sleep so he didn't have to deal with the fact his friend was missing but he knew he had to get up and see if any progress had been made. Slowly Harry got out of bed and paid a visit to the bathroom before returning and waking both Neville and Ron.

Not bothering to get dressed the three boys woke the girls and the five teenagers went down to breakfast in their pyjamas. When the group entered the kitchen Sirius sadly shook his head, indicating there had been no new developments while they slept. Disheartened the teenagers sat round the table as Molly fussed over them, insisting that they had to eat to keep up their strength.

"I wonder if she's okay." Ron sighed. He looked down at his plate of scrambled eggs and for once he found he wasn't hungry.

"She's strong, Ron. She'll be fine." Sirius reassured the disheartened redhead.

"What if they're treating her badly?" Harry asked. "What if they're torturing her for information?"

"You can't think like that." Molly scolded. The last thing she wanted was for Harry and the others to torture themselves with images of Hermione suffering. "Chances are they're holding her as a hostage, trying to draw you and Dumbledore out."

"Exactly." Sirius hurriedly agreed with Molly to try and ease his godson's worries. "They won't hurt her as they'll fear any retaliation."

"I hope you're right." Harry sighed. "I couldn't live with myself if anything bad happened to Hermione just because she's my friend."

"You have to think positive." Molly said. "We'll find her and we'll bring her home safe and sound."

"Oh, what about Hermione's parents?" Ginny asked, the mention of bringing Hermione home made the redhead remember that Hermione's home wasn't actually with them. "Aren't they returning today?"

"Yes they are." Molly nodded. "Professor McGonagall's gone to meet them and inform them what's happened."

"Will they be coming here, do you think?" Ginny asked. As selfish as it sounded Ginny didn't want to see the Granger's, she was worried in case they blamed them for what had happened to their daughter.

"I doubt it." Molly sighed, turning back to the sink that was slowly piling up with dishes. Despite many attempts to get to know the Granger's better they were a reserved couple and were distinctly uncomfortable around magic so Molly couldn't imagine they would want to wait for news with them.

"Come on you lot, eat up and go and get dressed." Sirius said, noticing the group had barely touched their breakfast.

Reluctantly the teenagers started to eat, each of them too distracted by thoughts of Hermione to enjoy the food. After they finished eating Molly gathered the plates and Sirius had just told them to go and get dressed when an owl appeared at the back door. The furious pecking drew the entire room's attention and Harry paused halfway out of the kitchen door to see what the fuss was about.

"That's Malfoy's owl." Ron exclaimed as Sirius opened the door and the owl landed elegantly on the kitchen table.

"It's carrying a package." Ginny said as everyone crowded round the table.

When Sirius reached to untie the package the bird squawked angrily and flapped its wings at him. "Bloody bird, he won't let me get the package." He muttered, moving back so he wasn't attacked by the owl.

"I'll try." Harry said, moving forward and slowly approaching the owl.

As Harry approached the bird it stood completely still and let Harry untie the package from around its leg. The second the package was loose the owl let out a loud squawk before rising into the air and flying out of the open back door.

"It's addressed to me." Harry said, looking at his name neatly written on the front of the small brown package.

"Open it, it could be important." Sirius instructed his godson as he moved to stand directly behind him.

Harry placed the package on the table and ripped open the paper, revealing a book. The book was a wizarding mystery novel and looked to be in extremely good condition.

"That's Hermione's." Ginny pointed at the book. "She was reading it yesterday."

"Just because she was reading that title, doesn't make it her book." Molly said, not wanting anyone to get their hopes up.

"No it doesn't." Harry said, opening the book at the beginning. "But this does." Harry pointed to the top left hand corner of the inner cover, neatly written there were the words: Property of Hermione Granger.

"That doesn't mean it's her book, anyone could have done that." Molly cautioned.

"It's Hermione's writing." Harry argued. "Plus she does it with all her books in case she misplaces them. We have her school trunk so we can compare the writing and prove all her books have her name written in them."

"Calm down, Harry." Sirius placed a calming hand on his godson's shoulder as he was getting worked up. "I'm sure this is Hermione's book but we have to be certain before we do anything."

"You mean you want to be sure before you go to the Malfoy's and demand Hermione's return." Ron said.

"It's not as simple as that Ron." Molly told her son. "Even if the Malfoy's are involved they'll deny all knowledge."

"How can they? It was clearly Malfoy's owl that brought this book." Harry shouted, picking up Hermione's book and shaking it in the air.

As Harry was waving the book in the air a photo fell out and floated to the floor. Luna bent down and picked the picture up, studying it carefully before she placed it on the table for everyone to see. The picture was a snapshot of a cosy looking cottage with the coastline in the background.

"Is this Hermione's?" Molly asked. "Does she use it as a bookmark?"

"No." Neville shook his head. "Hermione's bookmark is silver with her name printed down it. She hates it when people use things like pictures or scraps of paper to mark their places in books."

"So if it isn't Hermione's, then it's been placed in there deliberately." Molly said. "Does anyone recognise the house in the picture?"

"I think I do." Sirius said, staring intently at the picture. "It looks somewhat familiar but I can't place where I've seen it before."

"Do you think this is where they're holding Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Possibly." Sirius nodded. "But why leave us a clue?"

"It's not a clue, it's a trap." Harry protested, turning away from the picture. "The Malfoy's have Hermione, chances are she's being held in the Manor not some poky cottage on the beach."

"I agree it's probably a trap." Sirius told Harry. "But do you really want to risk not investigating it properly and it turns out Hermione was there after all?"

"I suppose not." Harry sighed. "I just think we need to be careful." He added.

"We will be, we won't just rush in like fools." Sirius said. "But we need to find out where this cottage is and check it out."

"How are we going to find out about the cottage?" Ron asked.

"First off you lot are going to go and get dressed, people will be arriving soon and I think clothes are appropriate attire." Molly said.

"While you're getting dressed I'm going to contact Andromeda, see if she can help." Sirius said. Andromeda Tonks was Sirius's cousin and Narcissa Malfoy's sister. "I vaguely recognise the house and I think it could have once been in our family so I'm hoping Andromeda might recognise it as well. Maybe together we can remember where it's situated."

As Sirius left to contact his cousin, Molly ushered the teenagers upstairs to get dressed. Harry dressed in record speed and was quickly flying back downstairs to see if Sirius had had any luck with Andromeda. The others arrived in the front room just in time to hear Sirius inform Harry that Andromeda would drop by as soon as possible, so she could help in any way she could.

* * *

Harry sat watching Ron and Neville playing wizard chess, his mind not focusing on the game at all. His eyes kept flicking between the front door and the fireplace, hoping to see the intimidating figure of his Potions Professor. Normally Harry liked to avoid the Head of Slytherin, who had made no attempt to hide the fact he didn't like Harry, but for once he was anxiously awaiting his return.

Dumbledore had arrived at Headquarters a little over an hour ago and was informed of the newest development. By that time Andromeda had arrived and had identified the house as one in Cornwall that had once belonging to her mother and had been left to Narcissa when she had died. When Dumbledore had arrived and heard about the discoveries Harry though some progress would finally be made but the headmaster had insisted on waiting for Snape before any final plans were made.

The previous night Dumbledore had sent Snape off to fulfil his role as a spy amongst the Death Eaters. Dumbledore was hoping to get some useful information from Snape regarding Hermione's whereabouts. Along with several other people, Harry was still unconvinced that Snape was loyal to the Order but Dumbledore trusted him implicitly so everyone else reluctantly accepted the Potions Professor was on their side.

Checking the fire and door one final time Harry got up from the sofa and made his way towards the kitchen. In the kitchen sat several members of the Order, making plans to raid the house they had received a picture of that morning.

"Harry, are you all right dear?" Molly asked, looking up and spotting the raven haired boy hovering in the doorway.

"I just came to see what was going on." Harry shrugged, slumping into the chair next to Sirius. "When are you going to the house?"

"Later this evening." Dumbledore replied. "We're working out the plans now."

"You know it's a trap don't you?" Harry asked the elderly Professor. "She'll not be there."

"We know there's a strong possibility of this being a trap." Dumbledore nodded. "But we can't risk not checking it out."

"I know." Harry sighed. He would hate himself forever if they failed to check the house and Hermione had been there all along but he also didn't like the idea of his friends walking into a trap.

"Don't worry, Harry, we'll be careful." Sirius said, smiling reassuringly at his godson.

Harry nodded and settled down to listen to the plans that were being made. As he listened to the conversation Harry was reassured somewhat, the Order were preparing as though they were walking into a trap and as such they were very thorough in their plans. Harry listened quietly for nearly half an hour before he heard the front door opening and seconds later Snape swept into the kitchen, his usual dark cloak billowing behind him.

"Severus, sit down and we can all catch up." Dumbledore said in greeting. "We've had some news, although I don't know how useful it really is."

Severus sat down opposite Harry and listened in silence as Dumbledore informed him of the book and picture they had received that morning. While Dumbledore was talking Ron, Neville, Luna and Ginny had entered the kitchen and they all sat down around the table. Molly looked at the teenagers wishing she could bar them for attending meetings but she knew with Hermione missing all they wanted was to help find their friend and keep up to date with what was going on.

"Do you have anything for us?" Dumbledore asked, once he had finished bringing Severus up to date.

"Not a lot." Severus said. "There was a meeting last night and The Dark Lord confirmed Hermione's kidnapping. He then announced that any further information would be on a need to know basis and he would be in touch with people individually if and when they were needed."

"Was the meeting held at Malfoy Manor?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, it always is." Severus nodded. "And before you ask, no. I didn't see any sign of Hermione."

"Did he ask about what we know?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course." Severus replied. "I told him that we had no solid leads."

"Could you possibly speak privately to Lucius Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked. "We think he's heavily involved. It was Draco who first indicated that Hermione had been taken by the dark side and it was his owl that delivered the book this morning."

"Of course." Severus nodded. "Narcissa asked me to dinner one night this week, I can arrange to go either tonight or tomorrow."

"Excellent." Dumbledore beamed, confident that Severus could get them some useful information. "I also want to check the wards around the Manor as soon as possible, there's a possibility Hermione is in there. Ideally I was hoping to do it on a day when Lucius was out, that way he wouldn't notice any disruption to the wards as I poke at them."

"I can find you a time when Lucius is out but what about Narcissa?" Severus asked, wondering if Dumbledore had even given the witch a consideration.

"The Manor is an old Malfoy property so Lucius will be more in tune with the wards, besides he would have been the one to set most of them."

Severus stared at Dumbledore, amazed that he had dismissed Narcissa so quickly. Severus wondered how Dumbledore would react if he told him that Narcissa had set several of the wards herself and in fact was probably more in tune with them than Lucius. Even after knowing Dumbledore for so long Severus was always amazed by how easily he dismissed people, he clearly thought of Narcissa as a trophy pureblood wife and forgotten that she was an accomplished witch in her own right.

"If that's everything, I should be going." Severus announced, standing up again. On a whole Severus preferred to spend as little time with the Order as possible, despite them supposedly believing he was on their side they never made him feel welcome.

"We'll be having a meeting tomorrow afternoon to discuss tonight's outing." Dumbledore said. "Unless you're too busy, I would like you to be here."

"I'll try my best." Severus said, quickly saying his goodbyes and making a hasty retreat.

Once Severus had left the rest of the Order slowly started drifting away as Molly began organising lunch for those that were sticking around. While Molly managed to rope Ginny and Luna into helping her with lunch, Sirius took the three boys outside to get a bit fresh air as they discussed that nights plans.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione stared up at the clear blue sky and let out another long sigh. Hermione had thought that once they put their 'kidnap' plan into action things would move swiftly but she was discovering that patience was also required.

The previous morning Lucius had sent Hermione's book to the Order with Draco's owl. By lunchtime Severus had returned from the Order headquarters and announced the Order were attacking that night. The rest of the day was a long waiting game, and even then apart from a quick message late that night saying the first stage of the plan had worked perfectly, nothing else happened.

It was now the following day and as far as Hermione knew no real details of the previous night had emerged. Over breakfast Hermione had tried quizzing Lucius about the previous night but he knew the same as Hermione, very little. Lucius told Hermione that he was expecting news later that day and that she would be the first to know when he had more information for her.

Hermione let out another sigh, turning her head to see if Draco had even noticed. The two teenagers were currently lying on the roof of the Manor as it wasn't safe for Hermione to be wandering around the grounds in case the Order came to check the Manor and spotted her. Hermione had argued that it was too soon for the Order to check out the Manor but Lucius wasn't taking any chances and had banned Hermione from wandering the grounds. So instead of being in the large grounds of the Manor, Hermione had dragged Draco onto the roof. The roof where they were currently lying had multiple protective wards and even if the Order were somewhere near they wouldn't be able to see anyone on the roof.

Annoyed that she wasn't getting a response from her best friend Hermione rolled over so she was propped up on her elbow. Looking down at Draco she wondered if he had actually fallen asleep as he was paying her no attention whatsoever. Deciding to test her theory Hermione reached out and ran her finger down Draco's spine, he wasn't currently wearing his shirt as he was sunbathing. Hermione was always amazed that someone so pale could spend as much time in the sun as Draco did without burning. When Draco didn't respond to her first touch Hermione continued to run her fingers up and down his back until he slowly turned his head and looked at her.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing, I'm just bored." Hermione shrugged.

"What do you fancy doing?" Draco asked, rolling over so he was propped up on his elbow the same as Hermione.

Hermione shrugged her shoulder a second time. "What do you fancy?" She asked.

"What do I fancy or what do I fancy doing?" Draco asked. "Those are really two different questions, although the answer to both is you. You're what, or more precisely who, I fancy. But then you know that already."

As he was speaking Draco had moved the hand that wasn't propping him up to rest on the bare skin between the waistband of Hermione's skirt and the bottom of her top. Draco smirked when he noticed Hermione's breath hitch at his confession, even though he wasn't telling her something she didn't already know she still reacted as though he was.

"I can think of dozens of things I want to do with you and there's plenty I want to do to you." Draco said, moving closer to Hermione.

"Like what?" Hermione whispered as she wrapped her own free arm around Draco's neck.

Draco grinned before dipping his head and pressing his lips against Hermione's. The kiss was short and sweet and Draco soon pulled back enough to look into Hermione's eyes. The couple stared at each other for a few seconds before Hermione smiled and pulled Draco back towards her. The second kiss was much more heated and within seconds they had collapsed back onto the floor, Draco lying partially on top of Hermione as their built-up sexual tension finally exploded.

A sudden crack interrupted the couple, pulling apart slightly they turned their heads to the source of their interruption. Hermione and Draco were both quite amused to find an obviously embarrassed house elf standing nervously beside them.

"What is it Dinky?" Draco asked his elf.

"Master Lucius wants to see you and Miss Hermione in his study." The elf said.

"Thanks Dinky." Hermione smiled at the elf. Hermione was quite fond of all the house elves in the Manor but Draco's personal elf had always been her favourite.

Dinky smiled toothily at Hermione before apparating away, leaving Hermione and Draco alone again.

"I suppose we should go and see what father wants." Draco said, making no effort to remove himself from Hermione.

"I guess so." Hermione said, reluctantly pushing Draco off her. "Lucius has the worst timing." She muttered as she stood up.

Draco laughed as he picked up his shirt and put it back on. He fully agreed about his father's timing but he found it funny quite how disappointed Hermione sounded at being interrupted. When he was fully clothed again Draco took hold of Hermione's hand and began to lead her down off the roof.

As they headed for Lucius's study Draco and Hermione discussed what he could want, both were hoping he would finally have some information for them regarding their plan. Both Hermione and Draco were confident that if Voldemort handled the Order right that Hermione's 'kidnapping' could be the beginning of the end of the war.

When they arrived at Lucius's study the door was already open and Lucius beckoned them straight inside. Hermione and Draco both noticed Lucius's eyes fall to their still entwined hands, a smirk on his face.

"It's about time." He muttered as the two teenagers rolled their eyes at him. "Come on lovebirds, we've got important matters to discuss."

Draco and Hermione both shot Lucius an un-amused glare as they walked passed him and settled into seats by the fire. It wasn't until Lucius had shut the door and joined them that Draco and Hermione noticed two figures hovering in the shadows.

"Draco, Hermione." Voldemort greeted as he stepped into the light and sat down next to Lucius. "I must admit your plan has worked excellently so far, I'm very impressed with you both."

"Thank you." Draco said. "We're both very pleased to help."

"And we'll both do anything more we can to help you triumph." Hermione added.

"I'm pleased to hear that." Voldemort smiled coldly. "I have big plans for the pair of you. I assume you both still wish to join me fully?"

For the last year both Draco and Hermione had expressed their interest in becoming Death Eaters. Voldemort was very keen on having them in his ranks but had first insisted they proved themselves, which was part of the reason they had devised the plan to 'kidnap' Hermione.

"Yes, it will be a great honour to serve you." Draco said as Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Good, I'll arrange your initiation ceremony in the next couple of days. Of course with Hermione's true loyalties still a secret, it'll be a private ceremony." Voldemort said. "But that's all in the future, right now we need your help to get the second message to the Order."

"Did the first one work as planned?" Hermione asked. She'd quickly learnt that Voldemort had no problems with either her or Draco asking questions as Lucius was one of his most trusted aides.

"It worked perfectly." Voldemort said. "Despite knowing it was a trap the Order still came underprepared. We killed at least two while several others were hurt."

Hermione smiled and nodded, she knew she could ask Lucius later who the casualties had been. "Will they fall for a second trap, though?" She asked. "If they lost people last night and more were hurt, they might not respond to another message."

"That's where I come in." A manic laugh sounded from the shadows before a woman with long, black hair stepped into the light.

"Bella." Hermione smiled and jumped up to hug the witch.

Bellatrix Lestrange was Narcissa's eldest sister and had only recently arrived back in the Malfoy's life after spending years in Azkaban. Hermione had initially been wary of meeting Bellatrix as she'd heard rumours the witch was mad, however when the time came she had formed an instant bond with Bellatrix. Bellatrix was thoroughly impressed by Hermione's undercover work while Hermione discovered most of Bellatrix's madness was an act.

"Should we get on with the plan?" Lucius sighed. "You two can catch up later."

"You're always so serious, Lucius." Bella huffed as she and Hermione sat down. "You should lighten up."

"I'll lighten up when we've won this bloody war." Lucius retorted.

"Anyway as I was saying, it's time for stage two." Voldemort quickly turned the meeting back to its real focus. "I want a picture of Hermione sent to the Order. They do know about Bella's house in Switzerland, don't they?" He asked Hermione.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I can remember it being discussed."

"Anyway I want this picture of Hermione to show where she is, which will be Bella's house in Switzerland." Voldemort explained. "Obviously the Order will know it's a trap, that's why I also want Bella in the picture."

"Because even if it's a trap, they won't risk that I'm being held by Bella." Hermione said, understanding the logic. Given Bella's reputation amongst the Order a picture of the pair of them together would cause great worry and concern.

"Exactly." Voldemort said, impressed that Hermione immediately understood his reasoning without him having to explain it. "I want this done today, Draco you go with them and take the picture."

"What happens after that?" Draco asked. "We're not going to be able to lay traps for much longer, eventually they'll stop coming no matter what pictures we send."

"We're working on that." Lucius said. "Although in a few days' time the Order will be coming to check the wards around the Manor. We're thinking we should let them see Hermione, it'll be ultimate proof we do actually have her. After they've examined the wards they'll know there's no way of getting to her while she's in the Manor so they might be likely to still walk into traps a few more times."

"What happens if they don't?" Hermione questioned. "What happens if once they know I'm here and it's impossible to get to me they give up?"

"Hopefully that won't happen." Voldemort said. "Although if it does we might have to make a show of moving you and lure them into a final trap."

"Anyway we don't need to worry about that just yet." Lucius said. "Right now we need the picture."

"Okay you two, go and get ready." Bella ordered Draco and Hermione. "I'll meet you in the front room in ten minutes."

As Draco and Hermione left the room to get ready they didn't notice Lucius lean over and whisper something to his sister-in-law. They also didn't notice the look Bella shot their way before she turned back to Lucius and nodded.

* * *

Hermione stood at the window in Bella's house in the Swiss Alps, admiring the view. Bella had always promised her that she could visit it one day and Hermione couldn't help but wish she was staying for longer than an hour.

After dressing in the clothes she had worn when she was supposedly kidnapped, Hermione and Bella had had faked a hoard of pictures that seemingly showed the older witch holding her against her will. Bella and Draco were currently discussing the pictures, trying to decide whether they had enough choice or if they needed a few more options.

"I think this should be enough." Bella said, taking the camera from Draco. "The Dark Lord can easily get a good picture from this lot."

"I suppose that means it's time to go home then." Hermione sighed, turning away from the crisp snow outside the window.

"It's time for me to go home." Bella said. "Why don't you two stay here for the night? There's a pub down the road that's run by a friend of mine, the food is excellent and he won't mention Hermione's presence to anyone."

"What about mother and father?" Draco asked. "We can't just spend the night in Switzerland without telling them."

"They already know, it was Lucius who suggested I offered you the place for the night." Bella explained. "However Lucius did say that that you had to be back home for lunch tomorrow."

"Thanks Bella." Hermione beamed at the witch before turning to Draco. "We can stay can't we?" She asked with a smile.

"Of course we can." Draco replied, mentally reminding himself to thank his father. At least alone in Switzerland they wouldn't be disturbed just as things were getting interesting.

"Have fun you two." Bella said as she stepped into the fire, preparing to floo back to the Manor. "Don't get into too much trouble." She called as she disappeared in a whirl of green flames.

"Should we go and eat?" Draco asked once they were alone. "I'm starving and it's well past lunch time."

"Okay, but I want to change." Hermione said, relieved that she had just brought her clothes to change into rather than just wear them.

Hurrying into the bedroom Hermione redressed in jeans and a jumper before re-joining Draco in the front room. Draco gave her a quick kiss before they set off to find the pub Bella mentioned.

Ten minutes later they were tucked in the corner of the pub, steaming plates of casserole in front of them. Hermione and Draco stayed in the pub most of the afternoon, drinking butterbeer and talking. Despite the fact it was technically their first date there was no awkwardness as they knew each other so well, in fact they were both finding it a relief to finally be able to interact in a more than friendly way.

On the way back to Bella's house the couple stopped a few times to kiss and when they got back to the house they collapsed onto the sofa. Gradually the kissing got more passionate and as their hands started to wander under clothing they moved into the bedroom.

Once on the bed they began to slowly undress one another. The pile of discarded clothes grew at a snail's pace as both Hermione and Draco took their time exploring each other's bodies with their hands and mouths. What felt like hours later to the couple they were both finally naked and seconds from consummating their union.

"Are you sure about this, Hermione?" Draco asked, looking down at the witch underneath him.

Hermione smiled at Draco and gently reached up to kiss him. "Yes, I'm sure." She reassured him. "I've wanted this for a long time."

"So have I." Draco admitted before connecting their lips in a gentle kiss.

Draco pulled back to look at Hermione, who gave him a reassuring nod. With one smooth motion Draco moved his hips and buried himself deep in Hermione. Hermione's nails dug into Draco's shoulder at the sharp burst of pain, although it wasn't anywhere near as bad as she had feared. Draco whispered soothing words in Hermione's ear as he gently kissed her until she was ready to continue.

Draco slowly began making love to Hermione, their bodies moving in perfect unison with each other. As they continued to make love their pleasure increased gradually until they climaxed within minutes of each other. Collapsing onto the sheets Draco held Hermione in his arms until they had recovered enough for a second round.


	7. Chapter 7

"It's another trap." Harry shouted, standing up abruptly and causing his seat to fall over.

There was currently a full Order meeting taking place in Grimmauld Place as earlier that morning they had received another owl from the dark side. This time the owl just had an envelope with no name written on. Inside the envelope were three pictures, each picture showed a clearly terrified Hermione and a grinning Bellatrix. The pictures also showed a window in the background and snow could clearly be seen outside the window, this led them to the conclusion that the pictures were taken in Switzerland where they knew Bellatrix owned a house in the Alps.

"Harry, sit down." Sirius ordered wearily. One of his best friends had been killed in the attack a couple of days earlier and he couldn't be bothered dealing with his godson's attitude.

"We know it's a trap, Harry." Dumbledore said, trying to ease Harry's agitation. "But we can't ignore the fact Bellatrix is in the pictures."

"Come on, Harry. You know what she's capable of." Neville said quietly. His parents had been tortured into insanity by the evil witch and he really didn't want to imagine Hermione suffering a similar fate.

"I know." Harry sighed, picking up his chair and sitting back down. "But last time we lost Remus and Tonks, I don't want more people to die."

"We understand." Molly smiled at Harry. "But surely you don't want anything happening to Hermione?"

"Of course I don't." Harry snapped, glaring at Ron's mother. "But we're checking the wards of the Manor tomorrow. I think we should wait until after that before we move."

"I'm sorry Harry, the decisions already been made. We move this afternoon." Sirius said, his tone leaving little room for argument.

"We'll be well prepared." Kingsley Shackelbolt told Harry. "We know we're walking into a trap."

"You knew that last time and two people still ended up dying." Harry snarled, once again standing up so quick his chair ended up back on the floor. "Not to mention the three people who ended up in St Mungo's critically ill."

"Harry." Molly called as the raven haired boy turned and stalked towards the kitchen door.

"Don't." Harry said, turning back to face the room. "I think you're all being really reckless and I want nothing to do with these plans."

Turning back around Harry stormed out of the kitchen and two minutes later the sound of his bedroom door slamming reverberated around the old house. The Order all looked at each other warily before quietly turning back to the matter in hand.

* * *

Harry paced around the room, angry that he had been ignored and the raid had gone ahead. Less than an hour ago two groups of Order members had left for Switzerland and he was once again left behind to worry. Waiting for news of the raid two nights ago had been horrible and it only got worse once the beleaguered Order returned and explained what had happened.

Harry could still remember the horror on Sirius's face as he had carried his dead best friend back to headquarters. Things only got worse as Kingsley had appeared with an unmoving Tonks in his arms and several people returned seriously injured. One of those people injured and rushed to St Mungo's was Ron's eldest brother Bill.

Bill was still in a coma and the healers didn't have a lot of confidence he would wake again. Since then one of his parents had constantly been by his bed while his siblings rotated their visits. When Harry had been arguing against plans earlier both Ron and Ginny had been missing as they were at the hospital with Arthur.

When Ron and Ginny had returned earlier they had both tried to speak to Harry and try to get him to leave his room but he refused to even allow them entry. Ron had quickly given up and went to find Neville but Ginny had sat for hours talking to Harry through the door. In fact Ginny had only just left after Harry stopped talking when he realised the two groups had left and Sirius was amongst them.

Harry continued to pace the floor for another half hour until he heard shouts coming from downstairs. Throwing open his bedroom door Harry ran full pelt down the stairs, arriving in the front room to absolute chaos. The members of the Order that had stayed behind were gathering around the ones that were staggering back to headquarters. Everyone who was coming back looked to have some sort of injury and several people needed support to even stand.

Harry scanned the crowd, breathing a sigh of relief as Sirius suddenly appeared in the front room. While his long hair was matted with blood and he had a gash down his face Harry was relieved to see Sirius looked relatively unharmed. Rushing over to his godfather Harry wrapped him in a hug, relieved that nothing had happened to him before they had a chance to make up.

"I'm sorry." Harry said, pulling back and looking sheepishly at his godfather. "I shouldn't have made such a fuss."

"You were right though." Sirius sighed, easing down into a seat. "It was a trap and there was far more of them this time."

"Did everyone escape?" Harry asked. Looking around he couldn't see any dead but there were several people missing.

Sirius shook his head sadly. "Kingsley went down early as did Professor Flitwick. I think Professor McGonagall also died, but I'm not totally sure on that."

Harry gasped at the mention of two of his Professors dying. Hopefully tomorrow when they checked the wards of the Manor they could find a way inside and take the Death Eaters by surprise.

* * *

Lucius strode purposefully along the corridor as he headed towards his son's room, he just hoped he wouldn't be interrupting anything. Since their return from Switzerland at lunch time it was very clear that Draco and Hermione were very much together and while Lucius fully approved of the relationship he didn't want to witness their more intimate moments.

When Lucius noticed Draco's door was wide open he breathed a sigh of relief, surely they weren't doing anything too private if the door was open. When Lucius entered Draco's bedroom he found Draco and Hermione sitting on the bed playing wizard's chess. Lucius rolled his eyes at the pairs timing, their matches were usually incredibly long as they were both accomplished players, so why they had started a game just before their initiation ceremony was a mystery to him.

"I'm not disturbing you am I?" Lucius asked, causing both teenagers to turn their heads in his direction.

"No, we're just passing the time." Hermione replied.

Lucius raised a questioning eyebrow at Hermione's statement. "Chess wouldn't have been the way I thought you two would pass the time." He commented.

"Me either." Draco muttered, earning him a glare from his girlfriend.

Lucius chuckled slightly, clearly he had Hermione to thank for not finding the pair of them in a compromising position. "Anyway, I've brought you these." Lucius placed two sets of black robes on the bed. "Put them on and be waiting outside the dining room in ten minutes."

"Do we not get masks?" Draco asked.

"Not until you're initiated." Lucius told Draco before pulling a vial out of his pocket and handing it to Hermione. "Take this before the ceremony, it'll help with the pain of receiving the mark."

"Do I not get anything to help me?" Draco asked, slightly put out that Lucius had favoured Hermione.

Lucius turned and looked at Draco with a disappointed frown. "Surely you're man enough to face a bit of pain."

"Of course I am." Draco replied, looking less than certain.

Lucius shook his head and headed for the door. "Ten minutes, don't be late." He called on his way out of the room.

"Do you want some of the potion?" Hermione asked as she hopped off Draco's bed.

Draco shook his head as he stood up. "I'll be fine, you take it."

"If you're sure." Hermione said, checking one final time before she drowned the potion.

While Hermione was taking her potion Draco sorted the robes and pulled his over his head. Hermione then pulled her robes on and together they made their way towards the dining room. When they arrived at the doors leading into the large dining room they stopped and waited, just like Lucius had told them to.

Within minutes of their arrival the doors opened and Lucius stood in front of them in full Death Eater regale. Despite the mask he was wearing both Draco and Hermione recognised the man who had raised them. Lucius told the pair to follow him before he turned and walked back into the dining room. Hermione and Draco shared a nervous look before they followed Lucius.

The long table that normally dominated the dining room was pushed to one side, leaving a clear path to Voldemort who was standing directly opposite the doors. To the right of Voldemort stood two more Death Eaters in full regale and Narcissa, Hermione and Draco knew the two Death Eaters hidden under the masks were Bellatrix and Severus.

When Lucius reached Voldemort he dipped his head slightly before moving to stand between Narcissa and Severus. Hermione and Draco came to a halt in front of Voldemort, bowing their heads in reverence.

"Draco, Hermione. Who would like to go first?" Voldemort asked.

"I will." Draco said. He and Hermione had discussed it earlier and decided that he would receive the mark first.

At Voldemort's instructions Hermione stepped off to the side while Draco rolled up his sleeve and presented his left arm to The Dark Lord. Voldemort pulled out his wand and pressed it into Draco's wrist, mumbling an incantation. As Voldemort stopped speaking Draco felt a burning in his wrist and when he looked down he saw the Dark Mark beginning to form on his pale skin. After five minutes the mark was fully burned onto Draco's forearm, although his skin still felt as though it was on fire.

"Bella." Voldemort called and the witch stepped forward, holding a silver mask.

"Welcome to the club, Draco." Bella said, handing her nephew his mask.

As Draco took his mask and went to stand beside his aunt, Voldemort called Hermione forward to receive her mark. Like Draco before her, Hermione presented Voldemort her wrist and he cast the spell to create the mark. As the mark formed Hermione bit her lip as the burning took hold, she was actually wondering how painful it was for Draco considering she had taken a potion that supposedly helped with the pain and her arm still felt like it was on fire.

Once the mark had fully formed Voldemort called on Lucius to give Hermione her mask. Hermione took her mask, carefully examining the unique markings on it.

"Welcome to the family." Voldemort said. "Your marks will stop burning in the next hour or so but they will still be sensitive for a few days."

After checking both Hermione and Draco's marks had took properly Voldemort made his excuses and left. He was off to attend a revel with some of the Death Eaters that had just returned from the successful trip to Switzerland.

Once Voldemort was gone Narcissa insisted everyone else removed their Death Eater clothes so they could settle down to a nice celebratory meal. Lucius, Hermione and Draco all took their cloaks and masks to their rooms while Bella and Severus merely took them off and stored them until they were ready to go home. While everyone was dealing with their clothing Narcissa restored the dining room to normal and arranged for dinner to be served.

When everyone returned they settled in the dining room to celebrate Draco and Hermione joining the Death Eaters. Throughout dinner Narcissa had banned all talk of the on-going war, although she was quite happy to discuss what would happen once Voldemort defeated the Order.

Once dinner was over however and they moved into the front room Narcissa did allow Lucius to discuss the plans for the following day. Lucius was heading into London the next morning and would be at the Ministry all day, through Severus the Order knew this and had arranged to visit the Manor in an attempt to get through the wards.

"Do you know what time they're coming Severus?" Lucius asked. "Or who'll be present?"

"I think they were planning on coming after lunch. Dumbledore will obviously be leading the group and he did say he was busy tomorrow morning." Severus said. "As for who else will be here, I have no idea. Potter and Weasley were both trying to convince Dumbledore they should be part of the group, but I have no idea if they succeeded."

"You did mention the best place to check the wards without being seen was in the woods directly opposite Hermione's bedroom, didn't you?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, I told them that the only room that was used in that part of the Manor was Draco's and his window faced the back garden, not the woods at the side." Severus said. While he'd been telling the truth about which direction Draco's window faced he had obviously lied about the number of rooms in use.

"Hermione, tomorrow you need to stay in your room and when Narcissa tells you the Order are here, you go to the window." Lucius said. "I know they might not see you but if they come in a group there's a chance some of them will use the opportunity to get a good look at the Manor while Dumbledore checks the wards."

"What am I meant to do at the window?" Hermione asked.

"You can sit beside it or just look out of it." Lucius replied. "Just make sure you're not looking happy and make sure you're the only person in view of the window."

"Is that your way of telling me to stay out of Hermione's room?" Draco asked.

"No, just make sure you stay out of sight." Lucius said. "We don't want to blow this just because they see you two looking all cosy together."

"Don't worry, they won't see anything like that." Hermione reassured Lucius.

"Good." Lucius nodded.

With plans all set for the following day Hermione and Draco said goodnight and headed for bed. When they got to their rooms they each went their separate ways but after getting ready for bed Hermione went into Draco's room and crawled into bed with him.

"Does your arm still hurt?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah." Draco said, holding his arm out to look at his mark. Because it was still fresh the skin around it was still bright red. "Does yours?"

"A bit." Hermione pulled her own arm out and compared her redness to Draco's, they looked virtually identical. "It hurt more than I thought it would, without the potion I don't think I could have coped."

"It was really bad." Draco admitted. "I almost bit through my tongue to stop myself from screaming."

"I'm pleased you didn't." Hermione said. "I rather like your tongue, it's extremely talented."

Draco laughed before rolling over and pinning Hermione to the bed. "Do you want a display of how talented my tongue is?"

"Definitely." Hermione grinned, pulling Draco into a searing kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

"Damn, this is boring." Draco moaned from his position lying on Hermione's bed.

"If it's so boring go and do something else." Hermione retorted, not turning around from her bookshelf. If she was going to spend the afternoon sitting beside the window she wanted something to do.

"There's nothing else to do." Draco whined. "You're stuck in here until the damn Order have been."

"I'm still not sure of this plan you know." Hermione said, tossing her chosen book onto the window seat before she made her way back to her bed. "It just seems a bit stupid to let the Order know I'm definitely here."

"Are you still worried that once they know how secure the Manor is they'll give up on you?" Draco asked as Hermione sat down beside him.

"I don't think they'll give up on me exactly, I just think they're going to be less likely to walk into any more traps." Hermione replied, resting her head on Draco's shoulder.

"I suppose we just have to go along with it and hope the adults know what they're doing." Draco said. "Personally I reckon they were just getting jealous that all the good ideas were coming from us and felt they had to contribute somehow."

"Yeah, I bet they were getting worried that the war would be won because of us two." Hermione muttered sarcastically.

"I was being serious." Draco said.

Hermione lifted her head and rolled her eyes at Draco. "I know you were."

"Then don't mock." He said with a glare. "Seriously, it has to be bothering them that because of our plan they've managed to get to the Order twice in quick succession. When they were coming up with the plans they weren't getting anywhere and now we've got the Order in a complete mess."

"I never thought of it like that." Hermione admitted, realising Draco was right. They'd had more success in the last few days than Voldemort had had in the entire two years since his return to full power.

"Well you should." Draco said. "I'm telling you, The Dark Lord will be victorious because of us."

"You have such a high opinion of yourself." Hermione laughed. "We may be a big help but other people have played a part as well."

"I suppose other people have helped somewhat." Draco conceded with a shrug.

"Personally I think Lucius has done more than us." Hermione said. "After all if he hadn't suggested I pose as a muggleborn then we wouldn't have been in the position to strike at the heart of the Order."

"Fine, father's a hero." Draco rolled his eyes. "But it was still our idea that moved things along. If we waited for father and The Dark Lord to come up with a plan who knows how long would have had to pretend to be a mudblood for. You might even have had to get together with either Potter or Weasley."

"That's just horrible, Draco." Hermione curled her nose up at his suggestion, at times it had taken all her energy just to put up with them as friends but she shuddered to think of having to do anything more with them.

Draco laughed before he pulled Hermione onto his lap. "It's a good job we came up with our plan when we did, at least now we're able to be together."

"Do you ever think we should have acted on our feelings sooner?" Hermione asked. She knew why she hadn't acted on her attraction to Draco but she wondered if he felt the same way or was he annoyed that she had made it clear nothing was going to happen earlier.

"No." Draco shook his head. "I found it hard enough to stay away from you anyway, but I never could have done it if we were together. There's no way I could have gone months without touching you so we would have snuck around to meet and we might have been caught."

"I can't imagine Lucius would have been too happy if his whole plan had gone up in smoke just because we couldn't keep out hands to ourselves." Hermione said.

"I don't suppose he would." Draco agreed. "Luckily we managed to contain ourselves and now he fully supports us being together."

"I'm pleased, it would have been so awful if Lucius and Narcissa didn't want us to be together." Hermione admitted. She had actually been slightly worried that they wouldn't approve of her and Draco being in a relationship since they had been brought up together.

"Luckily that's something you don't have to worry about." A voice from the doorway caused both Hermione and Draco to turn round in surprise.

"Mother you gave us a shock." Draco said to Narcissa who was standing in Hermione's doorway.

"Sorry, I came to tell you they're here." Narcissa said. "I'll let you know when they're gone again."

"Thanks." Hermione smiled at Narcissa as she got off Draco and walked over to the window.

"Are you staying here, Draco?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes." Draco nodded.

"Make sure you keep out of sight then." Narcissa told her son as she departed the room.

"Sometimes I think both my parents think I'm an idiot." Draco sighed, grabbing his own book from the bedside table. While Hermione was stuck at the window he was planning to wait on her bed and finish his own book. "As if I'm going to ruin the plan now."

"They're just being careful." Hermione said as she settled down in the window seat with her book safely nestled on her knee.

Hermione knew that if someone was to look directly at her window then she would be visible, although it wouldn't be clear that she was reading. Hermione and Draco had decided it would be best for Hermione to read as if they were talking they ran the risk of the Order realising she wasn't alone and that she was friendly with her supposed kidnappers.

* * *

"Bloody hell, this place is huge." Ron muttered as Malfoy Manor came into sight beyond the trees.

"No wonder Malfoy used to brag." Harry said, coming up beside his best friend. "I think I might have even been tempted to brag if I lived in a house that size."

Ron nodded in agreement as the two teenagers scurried after the three adults they were accompanying. Dumbledore was obviously present to check out the wards but as Harry and Ron had begged to accompany him both Sirius and Arthur had also came along to provide supervision for the boys.

Dumbledore, Sirius and Arthur had apparated them as close to the Manor as they dared go without triggering some of the distant wards. Following Severus's instructions for the best place to go the group had then trekked through a lightly wooded area for nearly an hour. When they reached a clearing in which the Manor was clearly visible Dumbledore stopped and announced they had found the perfect spot.

Turning to Harry and Ron he pointed to a fallen tree and told them to settle themselves down on it as he handed them both pairs of binoculars. "Use these to check out the grounds and the Manor. Look for places you think we could approach unseen and keep an eye out for other signs of protection."

"What sort of other protections do you mean?" Ron asked, a puzzled look etched on his face.

"Things like dogs." Harry suggested, earning him a proud smile from Dumbledore.

As Dumbledore headed off to check out the wards Harry and Ron raised their binoculars and began examining Malfoy Manor. Harry started at one side of the grounds while Ron started at the other. For nearly ten minutes the two boys examined the grounds, discussing possible places to approach. During their examinations of the grounds Harry spotted three large dog's prowling the back garden. Ron paled at the sight of the fierce looking animals and prayed they wouldn't have to try and pass them.

In an attempt to get his mind off the dogs Ron turned his attention to the actual Manor itself. Ron scanned the side of Manor, slowly moving the binoculars up and down the walls. When he reached the top floor a movement suddenly caught his attention, focusing on the topmost window he gasped at what he saw.

"Bloody hell, it's Hermione." He practically shouted.

"Where?" Harry demanded as Arthur and Sirius came rushing to the boys sides.

Ron pointed Harry in the right direction so both boys were watching their best friend sitting in the window. Harry and Ron both tried to examine how Hermione looked, they were relieved to see she actually didn't look too bad. She looked quite sad and every few minutes she would look out of the window and across the grounds, a wistful expression on her face.

"Let us have a look." Sirius said, nudging Harry. From the direction the two boys were looking him and Arthur had a vague idea where Hermione was but they were too far away to see her for themselves.

Harry and Ron both handed over their binoculars so Sirius and Arthur could get a look at Hermione and try to assess the situation.

"At least she doesn't look to be hurt." Arthur said.

"Hopefully they're just keeping her locked in the room and haven't really bother her." Sirius added.

"You mean apart from taking her to Switzerland and photographing her with Bellatrix." Harry commented.

"The important thing is we now know where she is." Arthur said, lowering his binoculars. "And at least she looks relatively unharmed."

"Let's just hope she stays that way until we can find a way to rescue her." Harry said, taking his binoculars back off Sirius and staring at his friend again.

"That could prove quite tricky." Dumbledore announced as he approached the group. He had been studying the wards a few metres away but he had heard the entire conversation.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"The Manor is extremely well protected." Dumbledore said. "In fact I know of only one place that is more secure. Hogwarts."

Everyone stared at Dumbledore as it dawned on them what he was saying. Hogwarts was virtually impenetrable and if the Manor's security was anywhere near as good as what was in place at the school then they couldn't see any way in which they could enter.

"Does this mean you can't gain entry?" Harry asked.

"I'm afraid so." Dumbledore nodded sombrely. "Even Voldemort himself couldn't break through those wards."

"What are we going to do?" Ron cried. "Hermione's in there, we need to rescue her."

"And we will don't worry." Dumbledore reassured the teenager. "But for now we need to get back to headquarters and arrange a meeting, we need a new plan."

* * *

Severus ladled the last of his potion into vials and put corks into the tops, once they were packaged he labelled them neatly and placed them on the appropriate shelves. Severus was currently in the Order's stockroom, which was a small room just off the kitchen. He was currently replenishing the Order's stock of potions.

Once he was finished Severus cleaned up and was just walking up the stairs to the door when he heard a loud commotion in the kitchen. Sneaking up the rest of the stairs quietly Severus stopped at the partially open door and peeked into the kitchen. His Slytherin nature kept him from revealing his presence, although he also figured he would be more likely to find out what was really happening this way as he still wasn't fully trusted by anyone other than Dumbledore.

"This is unbelievable." Harry stormed as he entered the kitchen with Ron, Sirius following close behind them. "We're never going to get Hermione back."

Severus smirked to himself as he heard the trio bemoan the tight security on the Manor. Honestly he'd been quite surprised in the first place when they seemed to genuinely believe they could enter the Manor undetected.

"I knew we should have gone after Malfoy on the train." Ron said as he sat down at the table. "We could have gotten him to tell us what was going on."

"Yeah." Harry agreed. "Or we should have taken him, see how they like having someone from their side kidnapped."

"That actually would have been a good idea." Sirius sighed as he began to make a cup of tea. "It would have given us something to bargain with."

As Severus listened to the offhand comments about kidnapping Draco a plan began to form in his head. As he remained hidden the plan began taking shape and he was confident that even though it was potentially dangerous it could work to the dark side's advantage. Once the plan had started to form Severus was eager to get to Lucius to discuss it but if his plan was to go ahead it was imperative that no-one realised he had heard the conversation between Sirius and the two teenagers, so he was stuck until he was able to leave undetected.

For nearly half an hour Severus was stuck in the stockroom as he waited for the kitchen to empty. When at last Harry and Ron went upstairs and Sirius headed into the back garden, Severus was able to creep out of his hiding place. Severus was pleased the house was relatively quiet as he crept through the kitchen and towards the front door without anyone seeing him. His luck continued to hold as he left the headquarters undetected and apparated to Malfoy Manor.


	9. Chapter 9

When Lucius returned home from his business trip to London he was surprised to find Severus at the Manor. His friend was sitting conversing with Narcissa in the front room. Draco and Hermione were also in the front room but they were too busy with each other to even notice Lucius had arrived home.

"Did everything go alright today?" Lucius asked as he greeted his wife.

"I think so." Narcissa replied. "I knew when the Order were here and Hermione spent most of the afternoon at the window. I have no idea whether or not they saw her though."

"They did." Severus said. "I was at headquarters when they returned and they mentioned seeing Hermione."

"At least I didn't spend the afternoon sitting at the window for nothing." Hermione said. Once Lucius had spoken both her and Draco had started paying attention to the conversation going on over the other side of the room.

"They were also bemoaning the security around the Manor." Severus said. "It sounded like they had pretty much decided they couldn't gain entry."

"At least they're not totally stupid and recognise a lost cause when they see one." Lucius sneered.

"And what happens if they now think I'm a lost cause?" Hermione asked. "What happens that now they know I'm in the Manor and they can't get to me?"

"I think I can help there." Severus said before Lucius had a chance to respond to Hermione's questions. "I also heard them mention something else, it was just an off the cuff remark but I actually think it could turn into a solid plan." Severus then explained what he had heard them say about Draco and the outline of his plan.

"No." Narcissa exclaimed, standing up and glaring at Severus. "I won't allow it."

"Do you think it would work?" Draco asked Severus, ignoring his mother's protests. "If they had me do you think they would bargain my life for Hermione's?"

"Draco, I won't allow this." Narcissa turned to her son. "It's too dangerous."

"It's my decision, Mother." Draco told Narcissa firmly. "If we decide this is a workable plan, I'll be more than happy to play my part."

"Narcissa, we're only talking at this stage." Severus said. "Until we discuss this in detail, I have no idea whether it will work. It's just an idea at the minute."

"An idea that has potential, though." Lucius said. Since Severus had first mentioned what he had heard at the Order headquarters Lucius had been thinking about what he was suggesting and he was beginning to think it would work.

"You would really allow your son to be kidnapped?" Narcissa turned on her husband, fuming that he was supporting Severus's ludicrous idea.

"That would be up to Draco." Lucius replied, seemingly unflustered by his wife's anger. "Nothing will even be happening until we've had a proper discussion."

"Then you can have the discussion without me, I want no part of this." Narcissa stormed, turning and rushing out of the front room.

"Cissa!" Lucius called after this wife and got up to go after her.

"I'll go, Lucius." Hermione stopped Lucius as she stood up and went after Narcissa.

Hermione took a guess that Narcissa would have gone to sit in the garden, it was where the older witch always went when she wanted to be alone. Sure enough Hermione found Narcissa sitting on a bench beside the rose garden. Hermione sat down beside Narcissa and waited for the woman who had brought her up to speak.

"Surely you can't like this idea." Narcissa finally said.

"I don't." Hermione admitted. The thought of letting Draco be taken was a horrid one but Hermione was trying to see the big picture. "But I can see how it could work. If the Order had Draco they would definitely seek a trade."

"What if they didn't, what if they killed him?" Narcissa whispered, barely able to speak her fears out loud.

"They won't do that." Hermione reassured Narcissa, hoping she was right. "Even the Order aren't stupid enough to kill someone before finding out if they could be of any use to them."

"They may not kill him but you can't tell me they won't use the opportunity to hurt him." Narcissa argued.

Hermione sighed, knowing Narcissa was right. If they did talk about the plan and decide it was a viable option there was a good chance Draco could be seriously hurt by the Order.

"See, we can't guarantee he'll be safe." Narcissa said, taking Hermione's silence as agreement.

"You're right, we can't." Hermione said. "But I honestly don't think they'll be too harsh on him. Don't forget we've got Severus on their side, he can remind them that I would be the one to suffer if any harm came to Draco."

"Have you noticed we're already talking as though the plan will go ahead?" Narcissa sighed.

"That's because we both know that unless a major flaw is found, the plan is the best we have of ending this war once and for all. A hostage exchange would be an ideal way of drawing the Order out." Hermione said. "That's why you need to come back inside. If the men are going to discuss it they need us to make sure it's all going to run smoothly, you know how Lucius and Draco tend to do things without completely thinking through the consequences."

"I suppose I should, but I still don't like it." Narcissa said. "It was bad enough letting you get involved with the Order but at least I knew they wouldn't hurt you as they thought you were on their side. It's going to be different with Draco, they know exactly whose side he's on."

"Draco will be fine." Hermione told Narcissa as she gave the witch a hug.

Narcissa hugged Hermione for a few minutes before she stood up and they made their way back into the house. When they arrived back in the front room Lucius, Severus and Draco were all sitting together eagerly discussing the plan. The talk stopped when Narcissa entered the room and the three men all turned their attention towards the witch.

"First of all, I want to say that I don't agree with this idea. But if it's one you're serious about then I'm willing to discuss it." Narcissa announced as she and Hermione sat down. "Although I expect everything to be thoroughly thought through before we even consider putting it into motion."

"Thank you for at least agreeing to discuss it Narcissa." Severus said to the witch. He'd actually felt pretty bad that his idea could have potentially caused problems with the family.

"We've been talking about the plan and we think we have nearly everything sorted." Lucius said. "Why don't we discuss it properly over dinner?"

* * *

Narcissa sat quietly in her chair as she watched Lucius pace the floor in front of the fire. Severus was sitting in the chair next to Narcissa while Hermione and Draco were curled up together on the sofa. They were currently awaiting Voldemort's arrival as Lucius had called for him after they had discussed Severus's plan over dinner. Narcissa still didn't like the idea but she had to admit they had covered every angle and it would be an excellent way to get to the Order.

When the fire lit up and Lucius stepped away from the flames Narcissa wasn't the slightest bit surprised to see her sister emerge from the fireplace closely followed by Voldemort. Bellatrix was Voldemort's most trusted Death Eater so it was perfectly natural for her to accompany him to the meeting.

"Lucius, you said you had a plan." Voldemort said, getting straight to the point.

"Well it was Severus's idea but we've all discussed it and think it could be pretty successful." Lucius said as Voldemort and Bella made themselves comfortable.

"I'm intrigued." Voldemort said. "Tell me the plan."

"We arrange for the Order to capture Draco." Severus explained. "Once they have him they'll use him as a bargaining tool to get Hermione back."

"When it comes to the exchange we'll finally have the opportunity to get the Order where we want them, there's no way they'll risk meeting us without everyone present." Lucius said, wanting to make sure Voldemort knew the overall point if their plan.

"Would you be up for this?" Voldemort asked, turning to Draco.

"Yes, we've discussed it and I'm perfectly prepared to let them get their hands on me." Draco replied. The idea of actually being captured by the enemy was terrifying but the fact that it could end the war was enough incentive to take the minimal risk involved in being captured.

"How would it work, though?" Bellatrix asked. "How would they get hold of Draco?"

"Once we've sorted things out I go back to the Order and tell them that Draco has been initiated into the Death Eaters and is preparing to lead his first raid." Severus explained. "If no-one bites, I can manipulate things so they decide to try and capture Draco."

"Once they have Draco how are we sure they'll want to do an exchange?" Voldemort asked. "I don't want to send him into a situation where he could be stuck as a prisoner for months."

"They won't do that." Severus shook his head. "Besides I'll be there to make sure they decide an exchange is the best option."

"How do we guarantee the entire Order will show up at the exchange?" Voldemort questioned. "We don't want to go through all this to only get part of the Order."

"Obviously we can't guarantee everyone will be at the exchange but it is a pretty sure bet." Severus said. "Again I can manipulate them and make sure they know we're coming in force and they'll follow suit and do the same thing."

Voldemort sat in silence for nearly a minute before he spoke again. "I think this can work, obviously we'll need to sort out what will happen at the exchange. We need to have the upper hand, we need to let them think everything is running smoothly."

"I know some of the plan needs finalising but I think if we work on it we could have it ready to be started at the weekend." Lucius said.

"The weekend?" Voldemort questioned. "That's ambitious Lucius, it's Wednesday today."

"I know, but Severus can visit the Order tomorrow and tell them Draco will be leading a raid on Saturday." Lucius said.

"How do you feel about moving so soon, Draco?" Voldemort asked, once again turning back to the blond Slytherin.

"The sooner the better." Draco replied. "The quicker we get this plan started the quicker we can win this war."

"Well I must say I'm very impressed with your dedication to the cause, Draco." Voldemort smirked at the blond. "Now, I think we have some planning to do."

For the next couple of hours the group discussed every angle of the plan, from Draco's initial capture right up until the exchange. Everything was immaculately planned and it was Severus's job to make sure the Order reacted the way Voldemort wanted them to.

Once the plans were in place the group scattered for the night. Voldemort and Bella disappeared to wherever they went while Severus went home, the following morning he would visit the Order and set their plan into motion. Narcissa was still unsure of the plan so Lucius was still trying to convince her it was safe for Draco as the couple headed for bed.

Draco and Hermione also headed for bed and like every night since they had gotten together Hermione ended up in Draco's bed with him. Draco had initially tried to talk to Hermione about the plan but the brunette witch had said she didn't want to talk, instead they had made love before falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms.


	10. Chapter 10

The atmosphere in Grimmauld Place was dark and depressing after the previous day's discoveries. Despite discovering where Hermione was being held The Order were still no nearer to rescuing her and they actually had no ideas on how they were ever going to achieve it. The meeting the previous evening had been a complete waste of time, no new ideas were thought of and everyone left feeling depressed.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville were the most affected by the lack of progress. The teenagers were currently in the front room, trying not to give up hope of seeing their friend again. Order members were coming and going regularly while Dumbledore and some of the others were in the kitchen discussing tactics but the five teens remained in the front room, not wishing to hear how unlikely it was that they would rescue Hermione.

The teenagers only left the front room when Molly appeared and ushered them into the kitchen for lunch. Apart from Dumbledore everyone had left, leaving Molly and Sirius as the only other adults present. Over lunch discussions between the three continued to take place and it was obvious to the five teenagers that despite a whole morning in conference ideas of how to rescue Hermione were still thin on the ground.

Halfway through lunch they heard the front door open and moments later Severus Snape entered the kitchen. The five teenagers all shared a disgusted look as their Potions Professor entered the room, none of them liked the Head of Slytherin and it was obvious that he didn't like them either.

"Severus, sit down." Dumbledore said. "We've got a lot of catching up to do, we missed you yesterday evening."

"Sorry, I was called away." Severus replied. As soon as he sat down Molly placed a plate of food in front of him which he immediately thanked her for.

"Anything important?" Dumbledore asked, hoping Severus could provide them with something positive to work with.

"An initiation ceremony." Severus answered. "Last night Draco received his mark."

"But he's just a boy." Molly gasped.

"Yeah, an evil one." Harry hissed. "He'll fit right in to the Death Eaters."

"I must admit, I'm surprised." Dumbledore said, placing his cutlery on his empty plate. "I didn't think Voldemort would allow any wizards to join him until they were finished school."

"He's made an exception for Draco." Severus explained. "The way The Dark Lord was talking it sounded like he was a fan of Draco's, he already considers him one of his best followers."

"What's he done to deserve to be so highly though of?" Sirius asked. "As Molly said, he's just a boy."

"A boy who orchestrated Hermione's kidnapping." Severus said, causing everyone to gasp in surprise.

"I knew he was involved." Ron seethed. "Bloody git."

"What do you mean he orchestrated the kidnapping?" Dumbledore asked.

"And why haven't you told us sooner?" Sirius demanded before Severus even had a chance to respond to Dumbledore's question.

"I haven't mentioned it sooner because I didn't know until last night." Severus replied, glaring at Sirius. "Apparently Draco came up with the plan and worked with Lucius to pull it off. Getting the mark was part of Draco's reward."

Severus had decided to tell a story that was based on as much truth as possible, he knew it was easier to convince people a lie was true if there was an element of truth hidden amongst the lies. So far the story he was telling was quite accurate, he was merely messing with the timings of certain events and omitting Hermione's name from the forming of her kidnap plan.

"What do you mean getting the mark was part of his reward?" Harry asked. "What was the rest of his reward?"

Severus used Harry's question to initiate eye contact with the Gryffindor. While Severus was looking at Harry he used legilimency to delve into the boy's mind, once there he stirred up the memory of the conversation he had heard yesterday afternoon. Severus was hoping that with the memory fresh in Harry's head he would mention capturing Draco when the time comes.

"The rest of his reward is to lead an attack on Saturday." Severus replied.

"They're letting him lead a raid so soon?" Sirius asked. "They must be confident in his abilities."

"They are, The Dark Lord is especially vocal on how much he thinks of Draco." Severus said, trying to make sure The Order knew how important Draco was to Voldemort.

"I'm sure he'll think a lot less of him if he messes up his first raid and get himself captured." Harry mused. The previous day's conversation was suddenly very prominent in his mind.

Sirius immediately caught on to what Harry was implying and shared a look with his godson, letting him know he would support his idea.

"What are you talking about Harry?" Molly asked.

"It was an idea we had yesterday, although back then we were just thinking of what we could have done differently." Harry said. "If we had Malfoy we would have some bargaining power with the dark, we could force them to return Hermione to us if they wanted him back."

"Of course we thought it was just speculation about what we could have done, but now we've been presented with a golden opportunity to snatch Malfoy Jr." Sirius said, backing up his godson.

"You're seriously suggesting we kidnap someone?" Molly questioned, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Surely that makes us just as bad as them."

"We'd be snatching Malfoy as a way to get Hermione back." Ron told his mother. He was immediately taken with the plan, anything to hurt Malfoy was a good idea in his eyes.

As everyone began debating the pros and cons of the idea, Severus had to work hard to hide his smirk. It had been easier than he thought to initiate the plan to snatch Draco, he just hoped that Dumbledore sided with Harry, Ron and Sirius. At the minute Dumbledore was sitting back listening to the trio as they tried to convince Molly it was a solid plan.

"Okay, I've heard enough." Dumbledore brought a halt to the debate. "Normally I would be dead against kidnapping a student but it does seem like a good way to get Hermione back."

"Albus, you can't possibly be condoning this." Molly exploded, shooting dark looks at the headmaster.

"Come on Molly, it's not as if we'll be hurting him." Sirius said. "We'll just keep him prisoner until they're willing to exchange him for Hermione."

"Severus, do you think it'll work?" Dumbledore turned to Severus who was sitting silently watching the conversation. "Would they exchange Hermione for Draco?"

"I think they would." Severus said cautiously, he didn't want to appear too eager in case someone got suspicious. "Lucius and Narcissa wouldn't just sit back and do nothing if Draco was snatched. I think they could convince The Dark Lord that an exchange would be for the best."

"Could we get hold of him though?" Dumbledore questioned. "We may know about his upcoming raid but that still doesn't guarantee we can capture him."

"Of course we can." Sirius scoffed. "It's his first raid and he's totally inexperienced. If we know where he's going to be and when we can already be waiting for him."

"Plus, he's cocky." Harry added. "You know what Malfoy's like, he's got an over inflated opinion of himself and his abilities."

"He is a confident young man." Dumbledore admitted. "But with careful preparation we could be lying in wait as Sirius suggested."

"And what happens if you do manage to capture him?" Molly questioned. "Are you just going to bring him back here and keep him locked up until the exchange takes place?"

"No, we won't be bringing him back here." Dumbledore replied. "We'll be taking him to Hogwarts."

"Why Hogwarts?" Harry questioned.

"As soon as the dark side discover Draco's missing they're going to come after us. We need to make sure we're all somewhere secure." Dumbledore explained. "Hogwarts is the safest place, so I suggest we begin making plans to head to the school."

"You want everyone to move to the school?" Severus questioned. Moving everyone to Hogwarts was not something they had anticipated.

"Yes." Dumbledore nodded. "Once they realise we have Draco they'll hit us hard, I don't want to risk anyone not being safe. We're moving The Order to Hogwarts, I want as many people as possible safe in the castle."

"Where are you planning on keeping Malfoy once we have him?" Ron asked.

"I was thinking you five might like the job of making sure he was safe." Dumbledore said to the five teenagers. "Despite the tight security of the castle I don't want him wandering around, ideally I would prefer it if he was confined to one of the four houses."

Harry and Ron turned to look at each other, grinning as they both knew they were thinking the same thing.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Ron?" Harry asked.

"If you're thinking we make Malfoy live in Gryffindor Tower, then yes." Ron grinned. "He'll hate being stuck up in the tower away from his precious dungeons."

"I'll leave all the arrangements with you lot." Dumbledore said. "But now we need to discuss if we can get hold of Draco. What information do you have on the raid?" He asked, turning back to Severus.

"Not a lot, I'm due back at the Manor later tonight to help plan it." Severus said, for once telling the truth. While the basic time and place had been set all the details were still to be discussed.

"What do you know?" Sirius snapped.

"As I said the attack is due to take place on Saturday, late afternoon I think." Severus replied, once again glaring at Sirius. "The Dark Lord hadn't totally decided on a venue but he was leaning towards Hogsmeade."

"They're going to attack Hogsmeade during the school holidays? That makes no sense." Sirius scoffed.

"Actually it makes quite a bit of sense." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "With the school closed there's no help nearby, Hogsmeade is quite isolated in the holidays. They could actually do some major damage and send shockwaves throughout the wizarding world. I pretty much guarantee an attack on Hogsmeade will make some parents reconsider how safe it is to let their children return to school in September."

"But surely if they're attacking Hogsmeade it makes it easier for us." Harry said. "We know practically everyone in the village and if we're moving headquarters to the school we're nearby."

"Actually their choice of location is perfect. We can practically evacuate the village before the Death Eaters arrive." Dumbledore said. "But before we start making plans I think we need to call a full meeting of The Order. Molly, Sirius, can you two arrange that?"

"Of course." Sirius nodded, before he rose and headed into the front room to begin making arrangements.

"I'll help arrange the meeting but then I'm going to the hospital to relive Arthur." Molly said as she stood up.

"Of course." Dumbledore looked at the witch in sympathy, it wasn't looking good for her eldest son and he was continually surprised that she made such an effort to even be around Headquarters. "Give our love to Bill."

"I will." Molly smiled weakly. As she tried not to cry at the mention of her eldest child she turned to the teenagers who were still sitting at the table. "Come on you five, get upstairs for a while, you can come back when the meeting starts."

Without arguing the teenagers all stood up and made their way upstairs. Piling into Harry's bedroom they settled down to discuss what was happening. They could finally see a realistic chance of getting Hermione back and they were all excited at the prospect.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione stared at the pages of her book, her mind deep in thought rather than immersing itself in the book she was supposedly reading. Hermione was sitting all alone in the Manor's library as Draco was off with Bellatrix making last minute preparations for the following day, the day they expected Draco to be snatched by the Order.

Hermione shuddered at the thought of Draco being snatched but she tried to reassure herself that it would only be temporary. Hermione was more nervous about the kidnapping than Draco, she put that down to the fact that he had been busy planning everything while she was left alone with her thoughts.

"I'm sure a troll could read faster than that, you haven't turned a page in ten minutes."

Hermione shut her book and rolled her eyes at Lucius as he strolled into the library and settled down on the sofa beside her.

"He'll be fine you know." Lucius said, wrapping an arm around Hermione. "Besides, it'll only be for a few days. You survived six years in the lions den."

"Yes, but they didn't hate me." Hermione sighed. "I doubt Harry and Ron will have the restraint not to have a go at Draco once they have him at their mercy."

"We both know that Draco can handle himself." Lucius reassured Hermione. "He's still got more brains and power without a wand than those two friends of yours have with their wands."

"They're not my friends." Hermione growled.

"That's reassuring." Lucius muttered. "You've been so quiet these last few days I was beginning to think you'd gone soft on me and grown a heart."

"I've always had a heart Lucius, I'm just careful who I let into it and I have no room in it for Gryffindors."

Lucius smirked at Hermione's answer, while she was cold and calculating at times she was also one of the most loving people he had ever met.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked. Hermione nodded and shifted slightly so she was looking at Lucius. "Once you started school and befriended Potter and Weasley, did you ever doubt what you were doing? Have you ever considered siding with them?"

"No, I've never considered siding with them but I must admit for a while I did have a few doubts over what I was doing." Hermione admitted. "But by the end of first year I realised that they were just as biased as us, only they pretend to be so noble and act as though we're wrong for judging people by blood when they judge people as well."

"What do you mean, they judge people? How do they judge people?" Lucius asked.

"They judge people by their name and what house they're sorted into." Hermione explained. "For example, by the time I befriended Harry and Ron they already hated Draco and I know for a fact he had barely spoken to them. They hated him purely because of his name and what house he was sorted into. Not that it was just Harry and Ron who thought like that, I also realised everyone, including Dumbledore, treat the Slytherins badly."

"That's nothing new, I'm afraid." Lucius said, bitterness lacing his voice. "Even when I was in school everyone looked down on the Slytherins, considering us all to be evil."

"You are evil, Lucius." Hermione pointed out, making Lucius beam with pride at what he took to be a compliment.

"Thank you, I'm flattered you think so." Lucius smirked at Hermione before turning back to the conversation. "You said Dumbledore also treated the Slytherins badly, how so?"

"The thing I found to be the worst was the cruel and humiliating way he stripped them of the house cup at the end of term feast." Hermione frowned as she remembered Dumbledore's actions that day. "Everything with the Philosopher's Stone and Quirrell had happened a few days earlier but he waited until the Great Hall was decorated in Slytherin colours and the feast was about to begin to award extra house points. He then made sure to award Gryffindor just enough points to edge ahead of Slytherin before changing the decorations and declaring us the winners of the house cup."

"You think he deliberately waited until then to award the points?" Lucius questioned. He could definitely see Dumbledore being as malicious as what Hermione was describing.

"Yes, it was deliberate. He never would have done that if Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff had won the house cup." Hermione said, sounding sure in her statement.

"Let's guess, no-one else saw anything wrong in the way he went about things." Lucius said, shaking his head. While awarding house points was a reasonable thing to do in the circumstances Lucius had to agree with Hermione that the timing and way it was executed seemed to be incredibly malicious.

"Of course they didn't." Hermione snorted at the absurdity of anyone questioning Dumbledore and his actions.

"Hopefully the old fool won't be there next year." Lucius said. "Unless something goes wrong I think the war will be mainly over by this time next week."

"Do you think everything will have settled down before school restarts?" Hermione asked. She knew a victory for Voldemort at the exchange didn't necessarily mean the end of the war but it would mean the main job was done.

"I would think so." Lucius said. "Why? Are you nervous about going back to school?"

"A bit." Hermione shrugged. "I'll be pleased not to have to act as a muggleborn but there'll still be plenty of people that won't like me or what I've done. I really can't imagine I'll be welcome in Gryffindor."

"Maybe we can get you resorted in Slytherin, where you belong." Lucius suggested.

"That'd be nice." Hermione smiled. "It would also be nice to be able to see Draco more."

"Do you not see enough of him?" Lucius asked with a chuckle. "You two are practically inseparable, have been since you were children."

"We spend so much time together at home because we never see each other at school." Hermione said, looking at Lucius curiously. "Did you not know that?"

"No." Lucius shook his head. "I assumed you used to sneak around to meet up."

"No, we decided it was safer if we stayed as far away from each other as possible. We didn't want to risk anyone catching us and wondering why we were friends." Hermione explained.

"That explains it, then." Lucius muttered under his breath.

"Explains what?" Hermione questioned. She wasn't sure if Lucius had meant for her to hear but she had and was curious as to what he was talking about.

"Why you and Draco have taken so long to get together." Lucius said. "It's been obvious for years you were heading in that direction and I often wondered why nothing had happened until this summer."

"It was hard enough to stay away from each other in the first place, if we were together I don't think we would have managed." Hermione said.

"It might have been hard to explain if the pair of you were caught in a compromising position at school." Lucius mused. "Although you were missing out, there are plenty of places in Hogwarts that are perfect for a secret rendezvous. I spent many a happy hour in a deserted corner of the castle with plenty of young girls."

"Lucius." Hermione exclaimed, blushing at the older wizard's words. She knew from stories Narcissa had told that Lucius was a womaniser in his school days but she had never expected to hear Lucius himself reminiscing about his teenage romances.

Lucius merely laughed at Hermione's embarrassment as he stood up. "I'll be leaving you now. I'll see you at dinner and don't worry about Draco, everything will be fine."

Lucius briefly kissed Hermione on the top of her head before leaving the library. Despite barely speaking about Draco and the plans for the next day Hermione felt much better after her talk with Lucius. She felt so much more settled that she even managed to read a few chapters of her book before she headed upstairs for a shower and change of clothes before dinner.

* * *

Draco watched silently as Hermione excused herself and left the room, he wanted to follow his girlfriend but as it was his last night before his capture he instead stayed with his worried mother. Draco and Bella had arrived home shortly before dinner and they spent the meal talking about the following afternoon. Since the plans had been made Draco was getting used to his mother's disapproval but that night for the first time he had gotten the impression that Hermione also wasn't a fan of the plan.

The first night after the plan had been mentioned Draco had tried talking to Hermione but she had distracted him instead. In the two days since then Draco had been too busy working out the finer details with Voldemort and Bella to discuss things any further with Hermione. Hermione had actually seemed her normal self for the past few days but over dinner she was extremely quiet and looked worried whenever the plan was mentioned, which was actually quite frequent as it was the main topic of conversation.

Despite the fact he was eager to speak to Hermione, Draco stayed with the rest of his family in the front room when his girlfriend headed upstairs shortly after dinner. After spending a couple of hours alone with his mother, as Lucius and Bella had disappeared off to talk in private, Draco said goodnight and hurried off upstairs.

When he entered his bedroom Draco was pleased to find Hermione lying on his bed, wearing one of his shirts. Hermione smiled at Draco as he entered the room but made no move to get up and greet her boyfriend as he closed the door behind him.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked.

Hermione nodded as Draco walked over to the bed and perched on the edge of the mattress. Draco pulled off his shoes and socks before turning back to Hermione.

"I've got something for you." He said, pulling his wand from his pocket and handing it to his girlfriend.

"Your wand?" Hermione looked at the piece of wood in her hand with a puzzled expression. "Why do I have your wand?"

"I don't want to risk the Order getting hold of my wand tomorrow so I want you to keep it until the exchange, you can give it back to me then." Draco explained.

"What about the raid though?" Hermione questioned. "Surely it'll look odd if they capture you and you don't have your wand."

"That's where this comes in handy." Draco grinned, producing an exact replica of the wand Hermione was holding. "It's a copy of my wand, even Dumbledore won't be able to tell it's not my real one. This way if the Order do anything odd to my wand it won't matter because the real one will be safe with you."

"That's a really good idea." Hermione said. She wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to put some sort of tracking spell or something on Draco's wand the moment they had him in their possession, at the very least she knew his wand would undergo a thorough examination to see if it could help them in anyway.

"So you'll keep my wand safe until the exchange?" Draco asked.

Hermione nodded as she placed Draco's wand on the bedside table before turning back to face her boyfriend. "I'll keep it safe, you just better come back for it."

Draco reached out and brushed a lock of Hermione's unruly hair away from her face. He now understood why she had been so quiet and withdrawn over dinner, she was worried that something would happen to him and he wouldn't return.

"Of course, I'll come back." He whispered, leaning over and pressing his lips against Hermione's. "Is this what's bothering you? You're worried I won't come back."

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "I know it a stupid thing to worry about. The Order won't risk hurting you too badly, but I can't help myself. We've only just gotten together and now we're being separated."

"It'll only be for a few days." Draco reassured Hermione.

"I know, but our timing really sucks." Hermione smiled. "We've spent years waiting for the right time to get together and when we do we only manage a few days together."

"At least we've made them memorable." Draco grinned. "I also think we should spend tonight making a few more memories together."

Hermione grinned back at Draco, knowing exactly what sort of memories he was talking about making. "I like that idea. Come here."

Draco didn't need to be asked twice and he happily moved further onto the bed, pulling Hermione closer to him and joining their lips once again. Hermione moaned softly into the kiss as her hands began unbuttoning Draco's shirt. Without breaking the kiss Hermione and Draco divested him of his shirt before making a start on his trousers.

Once Draco was down to his boxers he gently pushed Hermione back onto the bed and slowly began to remove the shirt she was wearing. His grey eyes darkened with desire as he realised she was wearing nothing underneath his shirt and his movements sped up considerably as he unveiled her body to his eyes. Hermione chuckled at Draco's eagerness to get his shirt off her once he realised it was all she was wearing.

Once the shirt was discarded, Hermione removed Draco's boxers and the two teenagers fell back onto the bed wrapped in each other's arms. Despite the eagerness to divest each other of clothes the lovemaking that followed was drawn out, lasting until the early hours of the morning.


	12. Chapter 12

Just over a week after school had finished for the year, Hogwarts was a hive of activity as the Order settled into the vast castle. While all of the castle was free to use the main activity was situated up in Gryffindor Tower and Ravenclaw Tower, which was where the majority of people were concentrating their living area.

Harry, Ron and Neville were currently settling back into their dorm room as discussions took place down in the Gryffindor common room for what was about to happen in Hogsmeade. The exact timing of the Death Eaters attack was unknown, all Snape had been able to tell them was afternoon. As such it was planned that the Order would head to Hogsmeade just before lunch as they prepared to wait to ambush the Death Eaters and hopefully capture Malfoy.

"Are you sure Malfoy has to sleep in here?" Ron asked Harry, looking at the two empty beds.

The beds normally belonged to Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan but for the next few days one of them would have a Slytherin in residence. It was Harry's idea to make Malfoy sleep in with them but Ron still failed to see where his friend's idea had come from. Dumbledore had already enchanted the entrance to the common room so that Malfoy couldn't leave without Dumbledore himself being present, so Ron didn't see why they all had to share a room.

"It's easier." Harry replied. "I know we can put him in another dorm, but this way we can keep an eye on him."

"What's he going to be able to do?" Neville asked. "He can't leave the Tower and he'll have no way of contacting his family so what harm can he do in his own dorm?"

"Better safe than sorry." Harry said. "Anyway the decisions been made, I've already told Dumbledore he'll be in here with us."

Realising there was no point protesting any further Ron and Neville waited for Harry to pull his jumper on before the three boys headed down into the common room. Once in the common room they found Dumbledore, Sirius and Arthur discussing what was about to happen. Apart from them the common room was empty, the other people staying in Gryffindor Tower were clearly elsewhere in the vast castle or in Molly's case at St Mungo's. Molly still wasn't happy with the plan so she had arranged to go and sit with Bill at the hospital, taking Ginny and Luna with her.

"Are you ready for our guest to arrive?" Sirius asked, looking up and grinning at the approaching teenagers.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll love it here." Harry smirked at his godfather. "Plenty of red and gold to remind him exactly where he is."

"Just remember that he's not to be hurt." Dumbledore told the teenagers. "This is a last resort to get Hermione back, things could escalate quickly if Draco comes to any harm while in our care."

"Don't worry, we won't touch him." Harry said. "So when are you leaving?"

"In a few minutes." Arthur replied. "We need to make sure everyone is in place before the Death Eaters arrive, we can't run the risk of them getting suspicious and leaving again if they see something strange."

"So what do we do until you return?" Ron asked.

"Nothing, you just wait." Sirius told the boys. "There's nothing you can do."

"When are we getting in touch to say we have Malfoy?" Harry inquired.

"Let's wait until he's here, shall we." Dumbledore chuckled as he stood up. "I need to go and speak to the others. Sirius, Arthur, we'll meet in the entrance hall in half an hour."

"When do you think we'll get in touch?" Harry asked his godfather.

"I'm guessing tomorrow, let them stew overnight." Sirius said with a grin.

"Hopefully things will then progress quickly and we'll have Hermione back where she belongs, with us." Arthur added.

"I hope so." Harry sighed. "I hate to think what she's going through at the Manor."

* * *

Hermione moaned loudly and threw her head back, Draco's name falling from her lips as she neared her climax. Hermione's nails were digging into Draco's shoulders, leaving red marks and indentations on his pale, flawless skin. His hands were on her hips as she rode him and his fingers were digging into her skin so hard Hermione guessed she would have the bruises to show for their mid-morning frolic.

Not that Hermione or Draco cared about the marks they were leaving on each other, all they were concerned about was each other and the pleasure they were creating. The previous night the couple had made love for hours but their current session was rough and demanding as they shagged furiously as a way to forget they would be parted in a few hours.

Removing one of her hands from Draco's shoulder, Hermione yanked on his blond hair and pulled his mouth away from her chest. Draco smirked at Hermione as he pulled her into a steamy kiss, one of his hand leaving her hip to snake in between her legs. Hermione moaned loudly into Draco's mouth and a couple of hard thrusts from below combined with Draco's fingers had her screaming her climax. Draco's climax followed directly after Hermione's and the couple slumped back onto the bed.

Draco gently ran his fingers through Hermione's curls as she lay on top of him, her head buried in the crook of his neck. "I love you." He whispered into her ear.

Draco felt Hermione smile against his skin as she returned the sentiment. The couple had first uttered the words the previous night, although they both already knew how the other felt. They had loved each other all their lives and had been in love with each other for a few years before they got together.

"We should get up." Hermione muttered reluctantly as she lifted her head and looked at Draco. "We don't want anyone coming looking for us."

"I guess not." Draco replied as they began to unscramble themselves from each other.

Once they were out of Draco's bed, Hermione pulled on the shirt she was wearing the previous night and headed to her own bedroom to get ready. Hermione could have easily had a shower and got dressed in Draco's room but they both knew that would lead to them getting distracted and ending up being late for the meeting with Voldemort.

Half an hour later the couple met outside of their bedrooms so they could head downstairs together. Arriving in the front room they found everyone was already present. Lucius and Narcissa were sitting on the large sofa while Bellatrix and Severus were in chairs, leaving the smaller sofa available for Hermione and Draco to sit on. Voldemort was standing in front of the fire and didn't seem at all bothered that the teenagers had only just arrived in time for the meeting to begin.

"Now we're all here, I think it's time we run through the plan one final time." Voldemort said. "Draco, are you clear on what you're doing?"

"Yes." Draco nodded. "When we arrive at Hogsmeade I give the orders and stand back, I don't get involved in any fighting until the Order make themselves known."

"Good." Voldemort nodded, before turning to his favourite follower. "Bella?"

"Once the Order are there I 'accidentally' make sure Draco loses his mask. I also keep the others from trying to save Draco." Bellatrix said, reciting her part in the plan.

"Excellent, don't forget that no-one can see you do any of this. This has to appear genuine, no-one apart from us knows of the plan and no-one will know that Draco's capture was planned until just before the exchange." Voldemort said. "And Draco, don't forget to make it look good with the Order. Fight back but eventually let them subdue you."

Bellatrix and Draco both nodded. For the last couple of days the pair had been working on their plan and they were confident they could carry it out without anyone ever realising what they were doing.

"After the raid, it's up to Lucius and Narcissa to play their part." Voldemort turned to the couple sitting side by side on the sofa. "You have to behave as though this is real. Lucius you're going to demand action and Narcissa you're going to appear devastated."

"That won't involve much acting." Narcissa sighed. She was deeply disturbed by the plan and any worry or upset shown on her part would undoubtedly be real.

"Don't worry, Cissa, it'll be fine." Lucius reassured his wife before turning back to Voldemort. "Don't worry, we know exactly what to do."

"Good." Voldemort nodded again, satisfied that everyone seemed to be on top of the plan. "Severus, will the Order expect to see you after this?"

"I don't think so." Severus replied. "Dumbledore expects you to question me about giving information to the Order, but I've convinced him I can assure you that I didn't know of the plans. After all, apart from the initial meeting I've deliberately stayed away so I don't know the finer details."

"That's good." Voldemort mused. "We might have to use you as the go between to arrange the exchange. That will work fine if Dumbledore believes you've convinced me you knew nothing of the plan."

"What do I do, stay out of sight until the exchange?" Hermione asked, sighing in frustration. It was hard to hear all the plans being made and having no solid part to play in them.

"Yes." Voldemort shot Hermione an understanding look, he could just imagine how hard she was finding it being in the background. "You're also going to have to be careful around the Manor as well. We don't want any of the Death Eaters seeing you and realising you're not a prisoner. I'm afraid until the exchange is done there's going to be a fair bit of coming and going in the Manor."

"Its fine, I can stay in my room for the most part." Hermione shrugged. "Although I want to be kept informed."

"Of course." Voldemort nodded. "But for now it might be best if you leave, the Death Eaters involved in the raid will be here in less than ten minutes."

Hermione nodded as she stood up and left the room. Draco also went with her and when they were in the hallway he pulled her into the nearby library.

"Are you okay?" He asked, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist.

"I'm fine." Hermione smiled weakly. "I just want this all to be over with now."

"Me, too." Draco admitted. "But in a few days this will be over and things can get back to normal."

"Be careful." Hermione told Draco, brushing his blond hair out of his eyes. "I don't think anyone will try to hurt you, but still be wary of them."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Draco smiled and briefly brushed his lips over Hermione's cheek. "I'll be back to annoy you before you know it."

"I'll hold you to that." Hermione said, before pressing her lips firmly against Draco's.

Before the kiss could get too heated both Draco and Hermione pulled back. Sharing a last hug the couple then stepped out of the other's arms and headed back into the hallway. In the hallway Narcissa was waiting for Draco, after giving her son a hug she sent him back into the front room. Hermione and Narcissa watched the door close before they turned and headed off upstairs, both hoping they would see Draco again and the plan wasn't about to fail spectacularly.


	13. Chapter 13

Draco appeared on the outskirts of Hogsmeade a little after one o'clock. Draco's appearance was followed by several other Death Eaters, including his aunt. Bellatrix was the only one not wearing her mask, although she was in her full Death Eater robes.

"You three, head to the other side of the village." Draco started issuing orders once he was sure everyone had arrived. "The rest of you spread out, I want nowhere in this place left untouched. When I shoot red sparks into the air, the attack is to begin immediately. Go, now."

Draco watched as the Death Eaters hurried into position. He knew that most of them resented being told what to do by a teenager and were only obeying him because Bellatrix was with them. According to what Voldemort had told the others, Bellatrix was merely observing the proceedings and she would report back if anyone failed to listen to Draco and follow his orders.

"Are you ready?" Bellatrix asked her nephew after giving the other Death Eaters time to get in place.

Draco nodded and raised the replica wand, sending red sparks into the sky. The sparks were followed by the immediate sounds of an attack. From his position on the outskirts of the village Draco could see that the Order hadn't made their presence felt just yet, Hogsmeade was mainly overrun with Death Eaters running amok. Sharing a final look with his aunt, Draco began to walk into the village, wand at the ready for when the Order arrived.

While Draco headed into the centre of the village Bellatrix slipped unnoticed into the back streets. Keeping Draco in her sight the entire time she kept to the shadows as she waited for the fun to begin. Less than five minutes after Draco entered the village the Order made their presence felt. From her vantage point Bellatrix realised that several of the Order were already in place, waiting for the right time to strike, while others apparated in from somewhere else.

Watching the fighting Bellatrix longed to join in, especially as she watched Draco handle himself with all the grace and elegance she had instilled in him during their recent training sessions. Watching her nephew in battle Bellatrix couldn't help but think that if this wasn't a set up the Order would have no chance at getting near him, give him a few years and he would be pretty much impossible to either fight against or capture.

As much as Bellatrix just wanted to watch the fight and see Draco emerge triumphant she had a job to do. Moving so she was off to the side of Draco as he battled with a redheaded Weasley, Bellatrix aimed a spell at her nephew the exact time his opponent did. While the spell from Draco's opponent missed, hers hit him perfectly, causing his mask to fly off and reveal his identity.

Once Draco's mask was off the fighting intensified as the Weasley he was fighting was joined by another one identical to him, the father of the brood and Sirius Black. Bellatrix watched as the four wizards cornered her nephew, by this point his fighting skills had decreased dramatically as he prepared to be captured. Taking her eyes off her nephew Bellatrix checked around for any potential interference, luckily the Order were keeping the other Death Eaters busy so none of them noticed Draco's struggle.

By the time Bellatrix had checked out the surrounding fights, Draco had managed to lose his wand. Bellatrix smirked happily at the sight of Arthur Weasley holding the replica of Draco's wand while her nephew tried putting up a fight with wandless magic. Draco managed to put up a bit of a struggle but with no wand the four wizards surrounding him soon had an advantage and minutes later he was stunned.

Bellatrix watched as Sirius hauled Draco to his feet and apparated away with him. Once Draco was safely gone Bellatrix launched into battle, making it clear to the other Death Eaters that Draco had been taken. What followed next was a vicious battle, with several Order members losing their lives, until Bellatrix called a retreat. It was time to put the second phase of the plan into action.

* * *

Once it hit lunchtime the time seemed to drag back at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron and Neville soon discovered that Dumbledore had remained behind but almost everyone else was involved in the activity at Hogsmeade. After wandering aimlessly around the deserted castle the boys had retreated back to the Gryffindor common room as they anxiously awaited the rest of the Order's return.

"This is so boring." Ron whined. "We should have taken up mum's offer to go to the hospital with her."

"It may be boring now, but think of the fun when they arrive back with Malfoy." Harry said to his friend. "He's going to be hopping mad."

"And we're sharing a room with him, what fun." Neville muttered.

"It's not as if he can do anything to you, Neville." Harry rolled his eyes at his friends complaining. "He'll not have his wand and Dumbledore's just cast an anti-violence charm on the entire tower a few hours ago."

"I think that last one was more to stop us from hurting him." Ron chuckled.

With a wand in his hand neither boy would even consider taking Malfoy on, but it was an entirely different prospect when he was wandless and didn't have his friends around him.

"Yeah, I think it probably was." Harry said, laughing along with his friend.

Harry and Ron's laughter soon turned to them discussing what they would like to do to Malfoy. They were discussing possible ways to torture the blond without using physical violence when the entrance to the common room banged open. Whirling round the boys saw Sirius and Arthur entering the common room with an unconscious blond Slytherin propped up in between them. Dumbledore followed the trio into the common room and pointed to where he wanted Malfoy putting.

"Arthur do you have Mr Malfoy's wand?" Dumbledore asked. Arthur produced the wand from his robes and handed it to the headmaster. "Thank you." He said, pocketing the piece of wood for further examination.

"Should we wake him?" Sirius asked.

"Not yet." Dumbledore shook his head. "I want to wait until everyone's back safe and sound. Then I'll return and we can speak to Draco."

"We can watch him, if you all want to go." Harry offered.

"I don't think so, Harry." Sirius chuckled at his godson. He could see the glint of mischief in his eye and knew the second their backs were turned he would wake the blond boy up, just to annoy him.

"Sirius and I will stay here." Arthur said. "And if you three want to stay around for this you can sit down and keep quiet."

Reluctantly Harry, Ron and Neville obliged and sat back down. Satisfied everything was in hand Dumbledore headed back downstairs to await the rest of the Order. It was nearly half an hour before Dumbledore returned and when he did there was a sombre air around him.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

"We lost a few people." Dumbledore sighed. "Apparently Bellatrix was there. She must have seen some of what happened with you two and Draco, because she suddenly announced that he was missing and upped the ferociousness of the attack."

"Are all my boys alright?" Arthur asked. Apart from Bill who was in St Mungo's and Ron who had been left at Hogwarts all of Arthur's other sons had been involved in the battle.

"They're all fine Arthur, they're downstairs if you want to go and see them." Dumbledore said.

"I will." Arthur quickly stood up and hurried towards the door. "Are you coming Ron?" He asked over his shoulder.

"I'll see them later, I want to stay here." Ron replied, looking towards the unconscious blond.

"Fine." Arthur rushed away to check on his other children rather than try to convince Ron to accompany him.

"Can we wake him up now?" Harry asked once Arthur had left.

"Yes, I think so." Dumbledore nodded. "Although I want you three to sit and watch, don't provoke him."

After getting reassurances from the teenagers that they wouldn't interfere Dumbledore released Draco from the stunning spell. Because the spell had being cast over an hour ago it took Draco a while to come round, but after a few minutes his eyes were open and he was looking around the room.

"What the hell is going on?" Draco demanded, jumping up and backing away from Dumbledore and Sirius.

"Sit down, Mr Malfoy." Dumbledore said patiently.

"You can't tell me what to do, we're not in school now." As he spoke Draco looked around at his surroundings. "Then again maybe we are, all this red and gold is distinctly Gryffindor."

"You're right, we're at Hogwarts." Dumbledore told Draco. "And this is the Gryffindor common room."

"Lovely." Draco drawled. "And why am I here?"

"We've kidnapped you." Sirius said seriously.

"You can't go around kidnapping people." Draco glared at the Headmaster.

"Why not you lot did." Harry snapped. "Or do you not remember being involved in taking Hermione from the train?"

"Harry." Dumbledore turned to Harry with a warning look on his face. Harry gave the Professor a sheepish look as he closed his mouth.

"This is why I'm here." Draco stated, ignoring the fact Dumbledore had just scolded Harry for speaking. "This is about Granger."

"Yes." Dumbledore nodded. "You have nothing to worry about Draco, you will merely stay with us until we exchange you for Miss Granger."

"Nothing to worry about?" Draco queried with a snort. "From where I'm standing I have plenty to worry about. I've been kidnapped by the Headmaster of Hogwarts, confined to Gryffindor Tower and forced to be in the presence of Potter, Weasley and Longbottom."

"Mr Malfoy, stop with the dramatics." Dumbledore said wearily. "Nothing will happen to you and in a few days' time you'll be back at home with your family."

"That's all right then." Draco muttered. "As long as it's only a few days, why should I care?"

"That's enough." Dumbledore said sharply. "Things will be a lot easier if you just accept what's happening with grace."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were supposed to take getting kidnapped in your stride." Draco retorted.

"I'm just saying, it will be easier if you co-operate." Dumbledore said. "Now if you would give me your signet ring, the boys can show you where you'll be sleeping."

"Why do you want my ring?" Draco asked, looking down at his ring that showed the Malfoy family crest.

"As proof that we do actually have you." Sirius explained. "After all you can't do a hostage exchange if you don't have a hostage."

"If you don't give it to me willingly, I have no problems with stunning you." Dumbledore said, when Draco failed to remove the ring.

Complaining loudly Draco slid his ring off his finger and handed it to Dumbledore. Dumbledore then said he'd be back later to check he was settling in and left.

"Settling in? What does the old fool think this is, a hotel?" Draco scoffed.

"I bet this is a lot better than the treatment Hermione is getting at the Manor." Ron snarled.

"I'll have you know Granger is treated excellently at the Manor. She's free to go wherever she wants in the house and has a comfortable bed to sleep in every night." Draco laughed as Ron turned red, clearly he thought Draco was mocking him.

"You're not denying you have her then?" Sirius looked at Draco in surprise, he'd expected the blond to deny knowing anything about Hermione.

"What would be the point?" Draco shrugged. "You obviously know we have her, hence your ridiculous plan to capture me and exchange me for her."

"The plan is not ridiculous." Harry hissed.

"Sure it's not." Draco rolled his eyes at his rival. "It's not ridiculous at all to bank on the fact the darkest wizard in the country would be willing to bargain with you lot."

"You don't think Voldemort will trade you?" Sirius asked, surprised that Draco seemed uncertain that Voldemort would try and save him.

"The Dark Lord is unpredictable, who knows what he might do." Draco smirked as the four people in the room visibly blanched when he called Voldemort, The Dark Lord. "Anyway, didn't Dumbledore mention something about where I'd be staying. These robes are really hot and I could do with getting them off."

"Ashamed of your Death Eater outfit are you?" Ron sneered.

"Were you not listening, Weasley? I'm hot, that's why I want to take them off. I'm certainly not ashamed to be a Death Eater." Draco retorted.

"Well you should be." Sirius snapped. "Boys, show him to the room, please."

As Draco followed Harry and Ron out of the common room and up a flight of stairs he couldn't help but smirk to himself, it seemed that everyone was slightly touchy about his allegiance to The Dark Lord so he would do his best to remind them of it as often as possible.

"You can take one of the beds over there." Harry pointed to two beds at the other side of a circular room the second they entered it.

Draco took a quick look around and ascertained that one bed would put him next to Weasley while the other would put him next to Longbottom. Choosing the lesser of two evils Draco walked over to the bed beside Longbottom's and began to remove his Death Eater robes.

"What's that?"

Draco turned at Ron's question, finding the redhead pointing at his shoulder and upper back. Draco's shirt had come off with his robe and revealed the red marks that Hermione had given him that morning.

"Nail marks." Draco replied, pulling his shirt back on and rolling the sleeves back to reveal his Dark Mark.

"How did you get nail marks there?" Harry asked.

"Sex." Draco laughed at the naivety of his girlfriend's two supposed friends as their eyes widened. "I would say you should try it one time, but to get a girl to mark you, you have to be good. I very much doubt either of you could please a girl enough to have her claw at your shoulder and back as she begs you for more."

Harry and Ron both turned nasty shades of red before they turned round and stormed from the room, leaving Draco howling with laughter behind them. Once he stopped laughing Draco followed the two Gryffindors back down to the common room. Maybe being kidnapped wasn't going to be all that bad, he might be able to have a bit of fun at Potter and Weasley's expense.


	14. Chapter 14

Breakfast at Malfoy Manor was a quiet affair, even Lucius was more subdued than normal. The previous day had been a flurry of activity as Lucius had played the angry father, demanding Voldemort attack the Order in an effort to find Draco. After every place associated with the Order had been thoroughly searched Voldemort announced that all they could do was wait for the Order's next move.

Hermione had remained in her room throughout all the activity, only emerging when all the Death Eaters had gone home and it was dinner time. Dinner had also been a subdued affair and Hermione couldn't wait until Draco was back home, the Manor just didn't seem right without him around.

Breakfast was nearly finished when suddenly a distinctive snowy owl flew in through the open windows. The bird landed in front of Lucius, spilling his tea all over the table.

"Hedwig." Hermione cried. "That's Harry's owl." She told Lucius.

"The bird's a menace." Lucius muttered, mopping up his spilt tea before it dripped onto his lap. "It has no table manners."

"It's an owl, Lucius. Owl's don't have table manners." Hermione pointed out.

"Ours do." Lucius retorted. "You wouldn't find a Malfoy owl landing on someone's breakfast table and spilling a man's tea. It just isn't done."

"Forgetting all about our perfectly behaved birds, should we not find out what the Order has to say?" Narcissa joined the conversation, anxious to get her husband to get things moving in regards to getting Draco back home.

"Right, the letter." Lucius tutted, untying the letter that was round Hedwig's ankle.

The minute Lucius had removed the letter Hedwig took off, leaving the room as suddenly as she had entered.

"They're clearly not expecting a response." Narcissa sighed.

"Even if they were I hardly think they're going to instruct Potter's owl to hang around for it." Lucius said. "More than likely they'll expect us to use our own owl or contact them some other way."

"Maybe we can find out, if you open the letter." Hermione said, reminding Lucius yet again that he still hadn't opened the letter.

Muttering about impatience Lucius tore open the letter, causing Draco's ring to fall onto the table in front of him. As Hermione leant over and picked the ring up, confirming it was Draco's, Lucius scanned the brief note. The letter was basically Dumbledore saying the Order had hold of Draco and he would like to discuss swapping him for Hermione. After telling Hermione and Narcissa what the letter said, Lucius stood up and announced he was off to inform Voldemort of what was happening.

"How quickly do you think the exchange will take place?" Hermione asked, twirling Draco's ring in her finger.

"Quite quick, I think." Narcissa replied. "Of course we have to make it believable that Lucius has had enough time to convince The Dark Lord to swap you for Draco. After that I expect thing to be moving along speedily."

"I hope so." Hermione said as she stood up. "Can I hold onto this until Draco returns?" She asked, holding the ring up for Narcissa to see what she was talking about.

"Of course, I'm sure he would like you to keep it for him." Narcissa smiled.

"I'm going back upstairs for a while." Hermione told Narcissa. "Will you keep me updated?"

"Of course." Narcissa reassured Hermione she would know exactly what was happening, before the younger witch left the room.

Instead of heading to her own room Hermione headed into Draco's, where she curled up on his bed and tried to read. She hoped they would have news about the exchange soon, but realistically she knew negotiations could take a while and it could still be a few days until the exchange could take place.

* * *

Severus sat in his cottage waiting for Lucius and Dumbledore to arrive. After Lucius had received the letter from the Order that morning he had gone to Voldemort, Voldemort had then called him and plans were made. After waiting a few hours, to make it look as though Lucius was talking Voldemort into the exchange, Severus contacted Dumbledore. He told Dumbledore that he had convinced Voldemort he knew nothing about the plan to snatch Draco, but considering his dual role in the war The Dark Lord had suggested he was the best person to liaise between the two sides as a solution to their problem was reached. Dumbledore bought the story with ease and readily agreed to meet with Lucius, which was why Severus was waiting for both men to arrive.

Lucius was the first to arrive, stepping through the flames he greeted his old friends warmly. The two men settled down with a drink as they waited for Dumbledore to arrive. Dumbledore arrived via the front door, knocking and waiting for Severus to answer before he entered the cottage.

"Lucius." Dumbledore inclined his head, seeing the blond man had arrived before him.

"Where's my son?" Lucius demanded.

"He's safe." Dumbledore said, sitting down but refusing the drink Severus offered him. "In fact I think he's rather enjoying himself winding Mr Potter and Mr Weasley up."

"How nice." Lucius sneered. "Before we go any further I need to see he's safe."

"Fine." Dumbledore nodded. He'd already anticipated Lucius's request and had Arthur waiting in the Gryffindor common room to help him. "But I need the same reassurance about Miss Granger."

"What makes you think we have her?" Lucius raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore. "I asked Severus to arrange this meeting to talk about Draco, I made no mention of the girl."

"Let's not play games, Lucius. We know she's at the Manor, not only have we seen her there but Draco's practically admitted it." Dumbledore said, fixing Lucius with a steely gaze. "So should we forget about the mind games and sort this out like civilised men."

"Civilized went out the window when you kidnapped my son." Lucius snarled.

"That was an act of retaliation." Dumbledore said, defending the decision he had backed. "You struck first by taking Miss Granger."

"Perhaps instead of arguing over what's happened, perhaps you should get back to the point in question." Severus suggested. He'd decided on a whole he would stay out of thing but if he didn't keep things moving they could be here all night.

"Right." Lucius nodded. "As I was saying, I want proof Draco is alright before we proceed any further."

"Understandably." Dumbledore nodded. "If it's agreeable to Severus I can floo where he's staying and arrange for him to speak briefly with you. Of course I expect the same courtesy regarding Miss Granger."

"Fine, get on with it then." Lucius snapped, already getting sick of Dumbledore's ramblings.

"May I?" Dumbledore asked Severus, gesturing to the fire.

"Of course."

With Severus's permission Dumbledore placed a floo call to Gryffindor Tower. Arthur was sitting waiting for the call and after a brief conversation he went in search of Draco. After informing Draco what was happening, Dumbledore pulled his head back from the fire.

"I think it's better if you don't see where Draco is so I've arranged for him to call back." Dumbledore said, seconds before Draco's head appeared in the flames.

"Draco." Lucius got down near the fire to speak to Draco. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just bored stupid." Draco retorted. "How's everything at home?"

"We're all fine." Lucius told his son. He knew by talking in a broader sense they were able to include Hermione without arousing Dumbledore's suspicions. "We're looking forward to having you home."

"I'm looking forward to coming home." Draco said as he turned his head slightly, getting distracted by something on his side of the floo connection. "Apparently I have to go, see you soon."

"Bye, son." Lucius said, standing up as Draco's head disappeared.

"I believe it's my turn now." Dumbledore said.

Nodding Lucius connected the floo to the Manor and made a call to Narcissa. Being careful as to what he was saying, Dumbledore could probably make out most of what he said, Lucius managed to convey to Narcissa that Dumbledore needed to speak to Hermione. Like what Dumbledore had done with Draco, Lucius ended the call with the promise that Hermione would make an appearance moment later. Sure enough seconds after he made the promise Hermione's head appeared in the flames.

"Miss Granger, are you alright?" Dumbledore asked, kneeling down beside the fire.

"Professor Dumbledore." Hermione smiled at the sight of the Headmaster, he didn't realise it was fake. "I'm fine."

"You haven't been mistreated in any way have you?" Dumbledore asked.

"No." Hermione replied. "I've got a nice room and can pretty much go wherever I like."

"Well, you'll soon be home dear." Dumbledore said, convinced the young witch was putting on a brave face. "We're working on sorting things right now."

"Thank you Professor." Hermione said. "I have to go now, but thank you for everything you're doing."

"Satisfied?" Lucius asked as Dumbledore slowly pulled his aged body from the floor.

"I'm satisfied she's unharmed. What about you?"

"Yes, I'm satisfied Draco's fine." Lucius said. "Now, shall we discuss terms."

"I'm not here to bargain." Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm here to arrange a straight forward exchange. You hand over Miss Granger, we hand over Draco. No terms, no conditions, just a straight swop."

"That's all we want." Lucius replied smoothly.

"Good, I was thinking we need to meet somewhere neutral." Dumbledore said. "And only a few people."

"Hogwarts." Lucius suggested, smirking as Dumbledore looked slightly taken aback. "I assume that's easier for you, considering that's where you are."

"How…" Dumbledore trailed off and his eyes flicked over to Severus.

"Severus hasn't told us anything, it's merely logic." Lucius told Dumbledore. "Yesterday we hit every Order property we know of and found no sign of anyone, that indicates a mass evacuation and you wouldn't have had time to do it after Draco was taken. Granted there might be a location we know nothing of but Hogwarts is perfect for you lot, it's large and nigh on impenetrable."

"Impressive." Dumbledore murmured, conceding the dark side were brighter than he had given them credit for. "But I'm not sure it's the best place for a handover."

"Why not, you'll have the entire Order to back you up." Lucius said.

"You would agree to everyone being there?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, it's not as if I'd be coming alone." Lucius replied. "But we both agree everyone stays back. Narcissa and I will come forward to hand the girl over and you and one other person can bring Draco. Once the exchange is complete and we're both satisfied, we all leave."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"When do you want to do it?" Dumbledore asked.

"As soon as possible." Lucius answered. "Narcissa isn't coping very well, she needs Draco back home."

"Tomorrow at noon?" Dumbledore suggested. "How about we meet in the courtyard?"

"That's fine, tomorrow it is then." Lucius nodded.

"Very well, I'll be off now." Dumbledore said, rising from his seat. "I hope tomorrow runs smoothly, I'm trusting you to deliver."

"Don't worry, I promise you'll have the girl in your hands tomorrow afternoon." Lucius said.

Dumbledore nodded and after saying goodbye to Severus he departed.

"Was that wise promising him that he would have Hermione tomorrow?" Severus asked.

"I said he would have her in his hands, I didn't say she would stay there." Lucius chuckled. "Speaking of Hermione, I best get back home and fill her and Narcissa in on what's been happening. I'll also be talking to The Dark Lord so don't be surprised if he summons you later, we all need to make sure tomorrow runs perfectly."

"I'm sure it will." Severus told his friend. "The plan so far is going pretty good."

"Wait until you hear the rest of it." Lucius smirked. "The Order's not going to know what's hit them tomorrow."

Still smirking Lucius flooed home where he proceeded to inform Hermione and Narcissa of what was going on. He then spoke to Voldemort, who gathered the small circle of people who were in on the plan to discuss the following day. The meeting went on long into the night as the group ran over every scenario possibly, planning every little thing down to the last detail.


	15. Chapter 15

Hermione awoke with a feeling of anticipation, today was the day they would do the exchange and hopefully bring about Voldemort's victory. Hermione wasn't naive enough to believe today's events would end the war completely, but it could do enough to ensure the dark side were eventually victorious. A few rebellions were to be expected but if the main body of the Order could be taken out then the fight and belief would dwindle amongst the others.

Mulling over the potential changes to her life that would happen after the exchange, Hermione got up and got dressed. She then headed downstairs for breakfast, it was slightly later than normal as everyone had been up late the previous night running over plans. Before Draco had been taken a plan was set in place, so although her boyfriend may be missing out on knowing the finer details he would know exactly what was happening at the exchange.

When Hermione arrived for breakfast she found Bella was dining with the family. Giving the witch a big smile Hermione settled down at the table. Unlike the previous morning the atmosphere was lighter and everyone was a lot more relaxed. There was however still an underlying feeling of tension, while the plan was solid there was still a small chance everything would go wrong. They were all pretty confident nothing would go wrong but they would be stupid if they didn't take into consideration that not everything would end up going their way.

After breakfast Hermione was planning on heading upstairs to get ready when Lucius asked to speak to her. Hermione followed Lucius into his study where he produced a little silver box from his desk drawer and handed it to her.

"This is for you." Lucius said. "I want you to wear it this afternoon."

Hermione opened the box, revealing a bracelet shaped like a silver snake. The snake's mouth was open and the body of the snake formed a circle, its tail ending up back in its mouth. The snake's two eyes were glistening emeralds and the sparkled as Hermione picked up the bracelet.

"It's lovely." Hermione exclaimed. "But why are you giving it to me now, it's not my birthday or anything."

"The bracelet is fitted with a teleportation device." Lucius explained. "When you press the eyes of the snake the bracelet will transport you and anyone you're holding onto back to the Manor."

"You want me to run." Hermione looked up at Lucius in surprise. His gift was sounding an awful lot like he was trying to get her to run from the upcoming battle.

"I want you to have an escape route." Lucius responded. "Because we're doing this at Hogwarts, we'll not be able to apparate."

"Does everyone have something with a teleport device in?" Hermione asked, wondering if she was receiving special treatment.

"Narcissa has a locket with the same function." Lucius said. "I want my family to be safe."

"What about Draco?"

"I couldn't do one for him because he was getting captured, I couldn't risk the Order finding it and getting suspicious." Lucius said. "Besides, I doubt he'll leave your side once the fighting begins so if things get tough you can both use the bracelet."

"I'm not running." Hermione insisted. "I'll wear it just in case, but I'm not fleeing like a coward."

"There's a difference between being a coward and being careful." Lucius said. "Don't stay and fight just to prove something."

"I won't." Hermione said quietly.

"Good. Because you'll likely be targeted straight away. Once they realise what you've done and who you really are the Order will be out to get you. The bracelet could prove to be the only way you can escape."

"Thanks, I didn't think of that." Hermione said quietly. Despite knowing the Order would be furious by her betrayal she had never really considered how that would affect the battle, she was now realising Lucius was right, after Voldemort she would be the most wanted person in battle.

"Well make sure you remember it this afternoon." Lucius said. "If anything happened to you or Draco, I don't know what we'd do. No matter what happens you two have to be safe."

"We will, I promise." Hermione smiled at Lucius before giving him a hug.

Lucius returned the hug before releasing Hermione and sending her to get ready. Once she was dressed and ready to go Hermione put the bracelet on and made sure she had Draco's wand. She then turned and headed back downstairs where Voldemort was about to tell the Death Eaters what was really happening.

* * *

Draco lay face down on the bed in Gryffindor Tower as he listened to Potter and Weasley discuss what was going to happen at noon, the supposed exchange of hostages. As he listened to the duo gush about how great it would be to have Hermione back he couldn't help but smirk, he was really looking forward to seeing their faces when they realised the girl they thought was their best friend was on the opposing side and had just been playing them.

Deciding he should get up Draco rolled out of bed and stretched, ignoring the dirty looks the two Gryffindors were throwing his way. It took him nearly five minutes to take away the aches of sleeping in the tiny bed and by that time Potter and Weasley had disappeared. One of the things Draco was looking forward to most when he was no longer a hostage was sleeping in his own bed, the beds at school were too little for his liking and uncomfortable. During the normal school year he had his wand to adjust his bed in the Slytherin dungeons to be more comfortable, but here in Gryffindor Tower he was stuck on the small, lumpy bed.

Another thing Draco was looking forward to was a change of clothes. Dumbledore had made Potter, Weasley and Longbottom offer him some of their belongings to wear but Draco had refused, instead he chose to cast several wandless cleansing charms on his own shirt and trousers. Draco's wandless magic was pretty good so he was able to keep his clothing reasonably fresh.

Once he was dressed Draco made sure his sleeves were rolled up before venturing down to the Gryffindor common room. Having his mark on full display was one of the many ways he liked to rile Potter and Weasley, that and constantly referring to Voldemort as The Dark Lord were sure fire ways to get their blood boiling. Draco found it rather amusing that they were so shocked and scandalised when he made his allegiance to the dark side obvious, he thought they would have known him well enough after six years of attending the same school to know that he was a staunch supporter of the dark.

Arriving in the common room Draco found it practically empty. Potter and his little gang were sitting in the far corner while Mrs Weasley was tidying up. When she saw him enter the room Molly stopped her tidying and asked if he wanted any breakfast. Draco had soon realised that the witch didn't approve of the plan to hold him hostage and she tried her best to make him feel comfortable.

"Yes Please, Mrs Weasley. That would be lovely." Draco said to the woman, who immediately summoned an elf and arranged breakfast for Draco.

Draco smirked as he saw Potter and his gang shoot him evil looks, they didn't like the fact he was always polite to Molly. Draco had initially been polite to the witch as she never looked at him as though he was dirt and had done her best to make sure he was okay. Once Draco realised just how annoyed it made Potter and Weasley he turned on the charm with the older witch, now she thought he was a lovely polite boy who was just misguided.

When his breakfast arrived Draco settled down to eat, occasionally stealing glances at the teenagers in the corner. He was fairly certain that they were looking forward to getting rid of him as there obvious plan to make him uncomfortable had failed miserably. Draco had actually enjoyed the past day and a bit as he constantly wound up the group of Gryffindors. Firstly he had annoyed them by not being bothered by his surroundings, they had clearly expected him to be uncomfortable to be in Gryffindor Tower, but instead Draco had remarked how cosy the place was and what magnificent views you got from the windows.

Another great thing to annoy them with was Hermione. One time when they were complaining about what horrid treatment Hermione would most likely to be receiving Draco had informed them that she had an entire room to herself, he'd then added it was next door to his just to wind them up. He then constantly wound them up by saying that maybe she enjoyed it at the Manor, she did after all have a whole house and gardens at her disposal.

After breakfast Draco remained in the common room, just sitting watching the group of teenagers. His very presence was making them annoyed and after nearly an hour they got up en-masse and trooped out of the common room, heading through the portrait hole so he couldn't follow them.

Once the group of teenagers had gone Draco headed back upstairs and grabbed his Death Eater robes. Taking them back to the common room he settled down and waited for someone to come and get him. At half eleven Draco put his black robes on and sat back down until Dumbledore arrived fifteen minutes later.

"It's time to go Mr Malfoy." Dumbledore announced.

"Do I get my wand back now?" Draco asked as he stood up.

"Not just yet." Dumbledore smiled. "I'll give it to you just before the exchange."

Draco nodded and followed Dumbledore from the room, he knew there was no point in arguing about his wand. Silently Draco followed Dumbledore as they made their way to the courtyard. The courtyard was swarming with Order members and Draco was surprised to find Potter near the back of the group.

"Here we are." Dumbledore said, coming to a stop next to the Gryffindor. "You two wait here, until it's time to come forward. I've got to check everyone's ready."

As Dumbledore walked away to check the Order were remaining well back, Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco. Draco rolled his eyes at the other boy but refrained from saying anything, he just stood and looked towards the direction the Death Eaters would be coming from.

Less than five minutes later the first flickers of black were visible approaching the castle. At the sight the Order tightened their ranks and stood firm just in front of the wooden doors leading into the castle. From his position near the back, but off to the side, Draco had a perfect view of his father leading the Death Eaters into the courtyard. Once the Death Eaters arrived they stood exactly like the Order, only instead of blocking the castle they blocked the pathway leading away from the castle.

"Lucius." Dumbledore greeted, stepping forward a few steps.

"Dumbledore." Lucius mimicked the greeting and movement. "Shall we proceed?"

"Indeed." Dumbledore nodded. "Harry."

At Dumbledore's words Harry prodded Draco in the side and ordered him to move.

"You just had to ask Potter, no need to get violent." Draco drawled as he and Harry made their way to stand beside Dumbledore.

Once they were at his side Dumbledore handed Draco back his wand, which he quickly pocketed. Draco then watched as the Death Eaters parted slightly and his mother emerged, Hermione at her side. Once they had joined Lucius the two sides slowly began making their way into the centre of the courtyard. As they walked forward Draco spotted two Death Eaters move so they were standing a few paces in front of everyone else.

"Miss Granger are you okay?" Dumbledore asked when the two groups were inches from each other.

"I'm fine." Hermione replied.

"Enough of the chit chat old man." Lucius sighed. "Let's get on with this, I have plans this afternoon."

"Very well. I suggest we exchange at the same time, you let Miss Granger come to us and you get your son back at the same time."

Lucius nodded and gestured for Hermione to move forward, Dumbledore did the same thing to Draco and the two teenagers walked towards each other. Within seconds they had exchanged places, Hermione immediately ran to Harry and held onto him tightly while Draco briefly greeted his mother before heading to join the rest of the Death Eaters.

Draco took his place beside the two Death Eaters who had moved forward slightly and watched as the action began to unfold in the centre of the courtyard. Narcissa had also retreated to the group of Death Eaters and disappeared amongst their ranks, leaving Dumbledore, Lucius, Harry and Hermione still in the centre of the two groups.

"I think that concludes our business." Dumbledore said to Lucius.

"No, I don't think it does." Lucius drawled.

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked, paling slightly.

Before Lucius answered a squeak of surprise from Harry caught everyone's attention. Looking around Dumbledore found Harry and Hermione had moved significantly away from everyone else. He was briefly puzzled by this until he realised the teenagers were no longer hugging, Hermione was holding her wand against Harry's throat and had his wand in her other hand.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron called, stepping forward slightly from the gathered group. "Let Harry go."

"I haven't got Harry."

Hermione's voice coming from the direction of the Death Eaters caused confusion, until the Death Eater standing next to Draco pulled down their hood and removed their mask, revealing Hermione. The Order just stared in disbelief, their eyes flicking between the Hermione holding Harry at wand point and the Hermione standing flanked by Draco and an unknown Death Eater. They were all wondering which one was the real Hermione and what the hell was going on?

* * *

**A/N - The next chapter is the final one and wraps up the story. I know this story hasn't been overly long, but I have several more dark Hermione stories planned and a few of them are pretty long. **


	16. Chapter 16

As the Order looked on in shock the Hermione that had hold of Harry began to change. Her brunette hair darkened as her face changed and she got slightly taller. Within seconds it wasn't Hermione holding onto Harry, it was Bellatrix Lestrange. Bella cackled at the shouts of outrage and tightened her grip on Harry.

"I wouldn't do anything if I was you." Lucius warned the Order, who had all produced their wands and looked ready to start fighting. "Potter will be dead before any of you has the chance to react if you do something foolish."

"You lied." Dumbledore seethed. "You tricked us."

"It tends to happen." Lucius shrugged. "I'm not the most trustworthy of people."

"This was all a set up." Sirius shouted from the front line of the Order's ranks. "You never intended to return Hermione to us."

"You can have her." Lucius replied. "That is, if she wants to go to you."

Every eye swivelled to where Hermione was standing next to Draco, her blank expression made it difficult to work out what she was thinking. As everyone was looking at Hermione the Death Eater on her other side pulled off their hood and mask. The Order all gasped when Voldemort himself was revealed to them.

"Well, are you going?" Voldemort asked Hermione.

Hermione tilted her head to the side, as if mulling over her decision. "You know what, I think I'm going to stay here."

"You've brainwashed her." Ron yelled. He attempted to step forward but Arthur held onto him, keeping him in place.

"I'm not brainwashed, Ronald." Hermione smirked at the redhead. "I'm just finally able to show my true colours."

"I don't understand." Ron muttered. Several of the Order murmured their agreement, not having a clue as to what was happening.

"I'll explain it to you, shall I?" Hermione said, walking forward until she was in the middle of the courtyard. "Hermione Granger the muggleborn witch, doesn't exist, I'm a pureblood. My parents were Death Eaters and were killed by the Order." Hermione paused for a second and threw Dumbledore a dark stare before she continued. "I deliberately set out to befriend Harry so I could get close to the Order, this entire time I've been helping The Dark Lord try to bring him down."

"No, we're friends." Harry shouted. "I don't know what they've done to you, Hermione, but this isn't you."

Hermione laughed as she walked up to where Bellatrix was still holding onto Harry. "That's where you wrong, Harry. This is me, finally. Do you have any idea how annoying it was to pretend to be the Gryffindor Golden Girl, always being the good, responsible one? Finally I can be who I really am."

"And who is that?" Dumbledore asked. "A little girl brainwashed into believing we're the bad guys."

"Oh, I know exactly who the bad guys are." Hermione laughed and turned back to head to where Lucius was standing. "But I also know you so called light side are just as bad as us. Sure you like to act all superior but you judge people, just the same as us, and you kill people."

"Why are you doing this Hermione?" Harry asked, wishing he could get out of Bellatrix's clutches and go to his friend and talk some sense into her. "Why are you on their side? Voldemort killed my parents, you know that."

"And the Order killed mine." Hermione shouted, showing a flash of her temper. "Or do they not count because they were Death Eaters?"

Before Hermione had the chance to get into a slanging match with Harry, Lucius put his hand on her shoulder. Hermione turned round to face Lucius, he quickly shook his head before indicating she should return to the ranks. Hermione nodded and returned to her place in-between Draco and Voldemort.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked.

"Yeah." Hermione nodded. "Here, you might need this soon." She said, pulling Draco's wand from her robe and handing it to him.

"I think that's more than enough." Voldemort announced, stepping forward. "Now, since we're clearly at an advantage why don't you all surrender?"

"I don't think so, Tom." Dumbledore said, advancing on Voldemort. "We'll never surrender."

"And you'll never win, either." Voldemort chuckled. "The boy wonder over there is ours to do with as we wish and the rest of you are surrounded."

"We're not surrounded." Sirius yelled, just as the doors to the castle opened behind the Order.

Some of the Order turned all the way round but the rest just turned half way to witness another batch of Death Eaters emerging from the castle. At the front of the group were Narcissa and Severus.

"I hope you don't mind, but I popped round the front to let a few friends in." Narcissa smiled. "Surprisingly the door was unlocked and we just walked straight through the castle."

From their position at the front of the Death Eaters, Hermione and Draco smirked at the order's shock. Because Narcissa didn't have the Dark Mark people assumed she wasn't an active part of the dark side, so they didn't give her actions much thought. It seemed not one of the Order had noticed her disappearing act once she knew Draco was safely back where he belonged.

"Severus, what's going on?" Dumbledore asked.

"Are you really that stupid?" Voldemort sneered before Severus had a chance to answer Dumbledore. "It looks like you've being deceived twice. You really should be more careful who you trust."

As Dumbledore stood in the middle of the courtyard in shock the Death Eaters began surrounding the Order. He couldn't believe that both Hermione and Severus had been deceiving them all this time, he had trusted them both and thought they would both play a key role in defeating Voldemort.

"What do we do?" Molly cried. "Albus."

Molly's cries brought Dumbledore back to reality. Looking around he noticed that not only were they surrounded but they were heavily outnumbered, plus Harry was still being held by Bellatrix. Dumbledore and Harry locked eyes and Harry managed to nod to the Headmaster, Dumbledore took it as confirmation they should fight. He knew that would mean certain death for the teenager but he could see no other option, even if they surrendered, Voldemort wouldn't let Harry live.

Taking a deep breath Dumbledore raised his wand in the air. "We fight." He shouted.

Dumbledore's words and actions were the cue for everyone to engage in battle. Lucius immediately engaged Dumbledore in battle as Voldemort made his way over to Bellatrix and Harry. Handing Harry over to Voldemort, Bellatrix ran into battle, making a beeline for her cousin Sirius. Voldemort made quick work of disposing of Harry before he joined Lucius in fighting Dumbledore.

Just as Lucius had predicted Hermione was an instant target when the fighting began. No sooner had Dumbledore yelled fight than she was surrounded by her supposed friends and numerous Weasley's. Luckily she had Draco by her side and they were more than a match for her friends. Unluckily as they were fighting the two ended up separated and Hermione found herself facing Ginny, Ron and Charlie all on her own.

Even on her own she was managing to hold the three redheads off just fine. Hermione was concentrating most of her efforts on Charlie as he was the oldest and most experienced of the siblings, plus she knew both Ron and Ginny and knew that neither really excelled in duelling. Ginny was fantastic at throwing hexes when someone got her riled up but she wasn't as good when she also had to defend herself. Ron meanwhile just didn't have the ability to think on his feet and react quick enough to the situation, by the time he thought of an appropriate action the time to do it had passed.

As Draco battled his own gang of Weasley's and friends, Fred and George along with Neville, he kept an eye on Hermione. His girlfriend was managing fine and easily had the situation under control, causing Draco to concentrate more on his own battle. Neville was easily fought off and within minutes it was just Draco against the twins. Both Weasley's were skilled fighters but they lacked Draco's killer instinct, several times they either could have killed him or seriously injured him but they held back. Draco wasn't really surprised by the lack of finality in the twin's actions, he knew that while the Order had been preparing to fight they never really took into consideration it would be a fight to the death so most of them didn't have the ability to finish the job.

Draco however didn't have that problem and when he had the opportunity to take the twins out he did so ruthlessly. Finished with his own group Draco turned his attention back to Hermione, there was no sign of Ron or Ginny as his girlfriend battled their brother. Making his way towards Hermione, Draco occasionally fought off a stray order member, never having to stop for more than a few minutes.

Draco had nearly reached Hermione when she stumbled on a body behind her, causing her to lose her balance momentarily. That few seconds opening gave Charlie enough time to hurl a curse the brunette's way. Rushing forward as quickly as he could Draco jumped in front of Hermione and the pair crashed to the ground. Draco could feel his entire left side was torn to shreds and he could barely move, he couldn't even check if Hermione was alright beside him.

Hermione wasn't really sure what had happened, one minute she was stumbling and lost her balance the next thing Draco crashed into her the same time she felt herself being hit by a curse. Hermione's right side was in agony and she couldn't move it, she could however move her left hand. Making sure she wrapped her arm tightly around Draco, Hermione fumbled for her bracelet. The last thing she saw as she pressed one of the snake's eyes was Charlie advancing on them, wand pointing straight at them.

* * *

Hermione blinked several times as she tried to get the room to come into focus. She could hear voices in the background but she couldn't identify them or make out what they were saying. Hermione groaned in frustration as she struggled to wake up properly. After a few minutes however she recognised she was lying in her bed in her room at the Manor.

"Hermione, darling, just relax." Hermione recognised Narcissa's voice as she felt a hand stroking her hair. "You've had a tough time, so take it easy."

"What happened?" Hermione croaked, her voice sounding very weak. "Draco?"

"Draco's fine." Narcissa soothed. "He's in his room."

"What happened?" Hermione asked a second time, her voice coming out much clearer. Turning her head she found Narcissa sitting on the side of her bed, stroking her hair and clutching her hand.

"You and Draco were hit with a curse that paralyses and cuts the skin. Luckily the spell hit you both and you both suffered half a curse. If either of you had been hit fully you wouldn't have survived." Narcissa explained.

"How did we get here?" Hermione asked. "I can remember activating the bracelet but nothing after that."

"When you arrived at the Manor both you and Draco were in a bad way. One of the elves came to Hogwarts." Narcissa said. "Lucius and I left the battle immediately and we came home. We sent for a Healer, who patched you both up."

"What happened with the battle? Did we win?"

"Dumbledore's dead." Narcissa said. "Most of the Order are also gone. There's a few rebellious fractions still out there but they're being taken care of."

"Can I see Draco?" Hermione asked, trying to sit up and wincing as her side felt like it was on fire.

"Not yet, you need to rest." Narcissa said, gently pushing Hermione back onto her pillows. "Draco's healing that bit quicker than you so I'll let him come and visit you tonight. But only if you promise to go back to sleep for a few hours."

"Okay." Hermione murmured, sleep already starting to overtake her.

The next time Hermione awoke Draco was lying on the bed beside her. He wasn't wearing a top and she could see his left shoulder and most of his left side were bandaged up. Glancing down at herself she saw she was wearing a tank top and her right side looked to be in pretty much the same state.

"How are you?" Draco asked softly.

"Sore." Hermione winced as she moved and her side once again felt like it was burning. "What about you?"

"Sore." Draco responded. "Whatever that curse was, it was nasty."

"Thank you for saving me." Hermione smiled at her boyfriend.

"What else was I going to do?" Draco smiled back at Hermione and lifted his right hand up to stroke her face. "I wasn't going to let anything happen to you. I love you too much to lose you."

"I love you too." Hermione said.

Slowly Draco lifted himself up enough so he could lean over and press his lips against Hermione's. The kiss was brief and chaste, but it was all the couple could manage in their current state.

"I think we'll have to wait a while to do that any better." Draco said as he settled himself back down next to Hermione.

"Yeah." Hermione nodded. "It's a bit hard to kiss when it hurts to even move."

"Do you know much of what happened after we left Hogwarts?" Draco asked.

"Narcissa told me Dumbledore was dead and the Order are practically disbanded." Hermione replied. "What do you know?"

"Not a lot else. I know Severus is going to be Headmaster and before school starts again there's likely to be a new policy about mudbloods, I think they're going to try and ban them."

"Do you think things will be different for us now everyone knows I'm not a muggleborn?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, for a start we can finally be together in the open and not have to hide." Draco replied.

"I'll like that." Hermione said. "Do you think Severus will let me be resorted into Slytherin?"

"He doesn't have to. I saw him yesterday and apparently we're going to be Head Boy and Head Girl." Draco said, grinning at Hermione.

Hermione smiled at the news, before looking puzzled. "How does that help? I'll still be stuck up in Gryffindor Tower and there'll still be plenty of people who dislike what I did."

"There's going to be a few changes now Severus is in charge and one of those changes will be that the Head students get their own private dorms. We'll have a common room, bedrooms and bathroom to ourselves."

Hermione smiled widely and the couple settled down to talk about the future. They started off talking about their last year and the fun they would have sharing a room and not having to hide their relationship but talk soon progressed to after school and what would happen then. While neither Draco nor Hermione had any firm plans for the future they knew they would always be together, just like they had always been.

**The End.**

* * *

**A/N - I'm sorry the ending wasn't longer, but I'm not the best at writing fight scenes.(Although it it something I'm working on trying to rectify.) ****As I mentioned before I have several more dark Hermione stories planned, although I don't know when I'll have one ready to start publishing. At the minute I've currently got over 160 story ideas, but I have started a few of my dark stories and I do love writing them so hopefully I'll have a new one ready near the beginning of the year. Until then ****I would like to thank everyone who has supported this story, it really helps me keep writing to know even a few people enjoy my work. Thank you.**


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